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

Queensland Energy DataBase

Time series of Queensland production, consumption and prices for all energy sources 1970-201

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

Resilience, coal and the macroeconomy

There remains a debate about ‘oil and the macroeconomy’ despite James Hamilton’s claims. Manufacturing in 1970s US was, however, reliant on natural gas and electricity generated from coal, not oil. Whilst coal and electricity prices also rose in the 1970s their descent to pre-1974 levels was slower than the decline in oil prices. This research considers energy resilience during the 1970s. Spare capacity, natural gas and renewable energy are key resilience characteristics that predict improved manufacturing employment. The conclusion reached is that the rise in coal prices played a role, separate to oil price, in the macro-economies of US states

Measuring resilience to energy shocks

Measuring energy security or resilience in energy is, in the main, confined to indicators which are used for comparative purposes or to show trends rather than provide empirical evidence of resilience to unpredicted crises. In this paper, the electricity systems of the individual states within the United States of America are analysed for their response to the 1973-1982 and the 2003-2012 oil price shocks. Empirical evidence is sought for elements which are present in systems that experience reduced volatility from the energy shocks in the form of lower prices. Spare capacity is found to be a reliable indicator of reduced prices through both periods whilst renewable energy is found to be an indicator of reduced prices especially in 1973-1982

Measuring resilience in electricity generation: An empirical analysis

Carbon constraints will act as a significant fuel shock for electricity generation. This paper seeks to use previous fuel shocks (the 1970s oil price crises and the global surge in energy demand that started in 2003) as the context for analysing the adaptive capacity of electricity generation to large fuel shocks. Resilience is the framework for analysis and the metrics analysed are based on the characteristics of resilience; diversity, spare capacity and organisational structure. This approach differs from current energy resilience research in its pursuit of empirical evidence for the relevance of metrics. The findings indicate that spare capacity is the most important metric for predicting favourable outcomes but diversity also plays a role

Why information and transparency about electricity matter: fragmentation of governance and accountability under New Public Management

From 1995, Australian governments pursued efficiency benefits arising from significant structural reforms in the Electricity Supply Industry, including corporatisation and regulation of network monopolies, and introduction of competition for generators and for retailers. The restructure was motivated by the ideology of New Public Management and influenced by the field of neoliberal economics. More than two decades later, prices paid for electricity by residential and commercial customers have escalated sharply, resulting in sustained anger from all consumers. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chair has admitted that 'The National Electricity Market is largely broken'. This article documents the reduction in public access to information about electricity supply, the fragmentation in responsibility and accountability for consumer outcomes, and the consequences of these changes for transparency, industry operation, and retail electricity prices. New research enabled the creation of a database of Queensland energy production, consumption, and prices; this facilitated a fresh analysis of Queensland electricity sector performance since the restructure of electricity supply