Australian Renewable-Energy Microgrids: A Humble Past, a Turbulent Present, a Propitious Future

Abstract

As the global energy market undergoes a wholesale transformation accelerated by the need to decarbonise, a rapid transition to renewable energy and the mass deployment of distributed energy resources, autonomous energy networks or microgrids are emerging as an attractive mechanism for the delivery of electricity to end users. Yet in Australia, at least, relatively little is known about key aspects of microgrids that are fundamental to their successful deployment, not least the more commercial and economic elements rather than the purely technical. Drawing on the extant global literature on microgrids, in this paper, we explore the most important of these aspects including business models, ownership and investment. Identifying the ambiguity, inconsistency and uncertainty evident in many of the feasibility studies currently in train across Australia, in this paper, we highlight specific areas for future research. These research areas must be addressed if the full potential of microgrids is to be realised in the context of a global energy transition both domestically and internationally.

Evaluating the Use of a Net-Metering Mechanism in Microgrids to Reduce Power Generation Costs with a Swarm-Intelligent Algorithm

“…[26] showed alternatives for current Net-Metering in the Netherlands: a comparison of impacts on a business case and purchasing behavior of private homeowners, and on governmental costs. Australian's government policy towards energy has been dominated by an array of interventions and market-based instruments [27]. A study carried out in Italy showed the advantage to prosumers in performing Net-Metering.…”

Optimal Control of an Energy-Storage System in a Microgrid for Reducing Wind-Power Fluctuations

“…An active grid, the processes of production and distribution, and energy consumption implemented in a controlled manner can form a microgrid. A microgrid is an independent distribution grid that has been formed from the community of distributed production units, controlled loads, and, usually, energy-storage systems (ESSs) [1][2][3][4][5][6][7].…”

“…Therefore, considering the advantages and disadvantages of each, the combination of battery storage and the supercapacitor can be a useful tool [19,20]. In [1], the combination of battery-and supercapacitor-storage systems has been used to reduce wind-turbine-power fluctuations and reduce frequency fluctuations based on the DROOP method. The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal capacity of storage devices in order to reduce power fluctuations in the form of an optimization problem.…”