Is There an Optimal Entry Time for Carbon Capture and Storage? A Case Study for Australia's National Electricity Market

This paper examines the economic competitiveness of implementing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for deployment on the Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) against conventional base load electricity generation. By examining the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) for sent out generation as a suitable hurdle for judging the future prospects of different technology types, we examine the likely mix of generation assets that could be invested in. After examining the LCOE it is shown that CCS enabled technologies will not be competitive in Australia until 2025, which is well beyond the first emissions reduction target for 2020.Levelised Cost of Energy; Electricity Generation; Emissions Reduction; Carbon Capture and Storage

Colloquy

Liam Foster is a 2nd year English-History Student at SFU. He occasionally has a thought, but usually doesn’t. Mostly just blank here folks

Price Spikes in Electricity Markets: A Strategic Perspective

This paper aims to analyze the issue of price spikes in electricity markets through the lens of noncooperative game theory. The case we consider is Australia’s long established National Electricity Market (NEM). Specifically, we adapt von der Fehr and Harbord’s multi-unit auction model to settings that more closely reflect the structure of the NEM, showing that price spikes can be related to a specifiable threshold in demand.Electricity Markets, Spot Price Behaviour, Non-Cooperative Game Theory.

Market and Economic Modelling of the Intelligent Grid: 1st Interim Report 2009

The overall goal of Project 2 has been to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of distributed energy (DG) on the Australian Electricity System. The research team at the UQ Energy Economics and Management Group (EEMG) has constructed a variety of sophisticated models to analyse the various impacts of significant increases in DG. These models stress that the spatial configuration of the grid really matters - this has tended to be neglected in economic discussions of the costs of DG relative to conventional, centralized power generation. The modelling also makes it clear that efficient storage systems will often be critical in solving transient stability problems on the grid as we move to the greater provision of renewable DG. We show that DG can help to defer of transmission investments in certain conditions. The existing grid structure was constructed with different priorities in mind and we show that its replacement can come at a prohibitive cost unless the capability of the local grid to accommodate DG is assessed very carefully.Distributed Generation. Energy Economics, Electricity Markets, Renewable Energy

Is there a more effective way to reduce carbon emissions?

Whilst emissions trading systems are widely held to be able to deliver lowest-cost abatement, uncertainty reduces their effectiveness. We consider a new scheme, the Tender-Price Allocation Mechanism, which focuses carbon factor cost expenditure on abatement rather than just revenue transfers. It is a scheme that reduces uncertainty and the costs of uncertainty for both firms and regulators. It also incorporates a suite of incentives that compensates for the externalities associated with abatement investment.

Resilience and electricity systems: a comparative analysis

Electricity systems have generally evolved based on the natural resources available locally. Few metrics exist to compare the security of electricity supply of different countries despite the increasing likelihood of potential shocks to the power system like energy price increases and carbon price regulation. This paper seeks to calculate a robust measure of national power system resilience by analysing each step in the process of transformation from raw energy to consumed electricity. Countries with sizeable deposits of mineral resources are used for comparison because of the need for electricity-intensive metals processing. We find that shifts in electricity-intensive industry can be predicted based on countries’ power system resilience.Electricity; resilience; energy security

Rural electrification in India: Galilee Basin coal versus decentralised renewable energy micro grids

The state of Bihar in India has approximately 75 million people with no access to electricity. The government of India has pursued a policy of rural electrification through the provision of centralised coal-fired power which has been unable to resolve the low levels of electrification. Coal supply woes in India have led Indian companies to pursue new coal mines in Australia’s Galilee Basin. The costs of these mining ventures will be high due to the mining infrastructure required and long transport distances to rural India. A high level analysis of mining, transport and power station investment to meet rural demand in Bihar shows that the absolute investment requirement using coal, especially coal sourced from Australia, as an expensive option. Pursuing electrification through village level, renewable energy micro-systems requires lower financing and provides more flexibility. Pollution costs associated with coal-fired generation, employment benefits associated with many village implementations and a rural load unsupported by industry load, show the benefit associated with decentralised, renewable energy electrification

Gender, the life course and pension provision in the UK.

This thesis explores the notion that retirement is a gendered concept with particular reference to differences in pension acquisition between men and women. It employs a life course approach embedded within a political economy perspective. Central to this approach is the notion that events and experiences earlier in the life course influence later outcomes. An individual’s social, economic and political situation is both the outcome of previous actions and the result of a contingent historical process. By using a large secondary data set, the General Household Survey (GHS), this thesis analyses the links between education, employment and pension acquisition for both men and women. In order to establish further causation logistic regression is used which treats ‘variables’ as if they possessed causal powers and isolates the significance of various factors on pension accumulation. By also conducting a case study of the Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS) largely dependent on the use of interviews this thesis is able to provide a more detailed explanation of some of the trends apparent within the survey data as to the causes of women’s inferior pensions situation within a particular profession. This process of triangulation in association with the literature work enabled an assessment of the current debates about the future of the British pensions system and the potential affect of policy changes. This is not confined to the suggestions of the government but the ideas put forward by a number of alternative commentaries. In doing so it provides a comprehensive account of the strengths and weaknesses of approaches towards the future of pensions and the potential implications for women

Market and Economic Modelling of the Intelligent Grid: End of Year Report 2009

The overall goal of Project 2 has been to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of distributed energy (DG) on the Australian Electricity System. The research team at the UQ Energy Economics and Management Group (EEMG) has constructed a variety of sophisticated models to analyse the various impacts of significant increases in DG. These models stress that the spatial configuration of the grid really matters - this has tended to be neglected in economic discussions of the costs of DG relative to conventional, centralized power generation. The modelling also makes it clear that efficient storage systems will often be critical in solving transient stability problems on the grid as we move to the greater provision of renewable DG. We show that DG can help to defer of transmission investments in certain conditions. The existing grid structure was constructed with different priorities in mind and we show that its replacement can come at a prohibitive cost unless the capability of the local grid to accommodate DG is assessed very carefully.Distributed Generation. Energy Economics, Electricity Markets, Renewable Energy

Analyzing Silicon Pixel Sensor Efficiencies for the HL-LHC Upgrade with a Desktop Pixel Telescope and β-Emitter

The HL-LHC upgrade necessitates radiation hardness improvements of inner tracker pixel sensors and provides opportunities to leverage improvements in silicon manufacturing technologies. A primary indicator of radiation hardness is sensor efficiency after irradiation. To measure sensor efficiencies for the HL-LHC upgrade, a pixel telescope was constructed to use betas from Ru-106 and Sr-90 sources for DUT analysis in place of a test beam. Stringent cooling requirements of irradiated sensors necessitate the use of a heat sink, so the DUT is placed at the bottom of the telescope. This demands a robust statistical analysis to produce useful results. Thus, a MC model of the telescope was developed and used to generate PDFs of multiple Coulomb scattering angles. These PDFs are used to calibrate a separate analysis package which gives expected numbers of hits within certain probability intervals. By comparing the expected and measured hits in a given threshold, an efficiency is obtained. This method is still in the development phase, but shows significant promise when applied to simulated data generated via the MC model and can accurately measure efficiencies of simulated DUTs with uncertainties of 5% or less.</p