By redesigning the renewable power market for Australia,Australia can leverage the power of rooftop solar, by incorporating new opportunities for privately owned imbedded renewable energy generation installations in Australia. And making provisions for:

1. Privately generated power to be made available to the Energy market and develop systems to properly remunerate private generators for their power to the Grid.

2. To Allow rooftop solar and battery owners to decide how much power they wish to make available to the Grid.

• Developing rules for the regulation for the market for different types of power storage i.e. pumped Hydro, Lithium iron, and other types of appropriate storage applications.

4. the Appropriate rules about the security of Gas turbine owners to ensure reliable power generation.

5. the design of Market flexibility into the rules and regulations to reduce the impacts of power failures events by planning, e.g. moderating the market in such events, by shifting to appropriate power sources in such events.

Background information:

The Australian power industry and the incorporation of Renewable Energy into the energy market.

Executive summary:

The aim is to ensure that the supply of energy to the Australian power network is reliable and considers the potential that a growing renewable energy sector may at times be subject to power outages.

This proposal is to design legislation that would ensure that the renewable sectors of the power Industry market are robust and able to accommodate fluctuations in the power supply from renewable sources.

The Legislation would have the following components:

1. Enabling clauses to give fairer prices to small-scale generators, including rooftop solar, pump hydro, wind generators and other embedded generator applications outlined in the report below.
2. Enable a market for renewable energy that incorporates both storage and renewable generation. This would incorporate storage applications such as outlined below in the report.
3. Legislation that would enable the main power market to operate alongside the Renewable Energy market, which operates across the larger national network. The object of this market would be to ensure that there are no more market failures in the Grid and that a controlled market mechanism with rules be established. The market controls would allow the operation of brokers, to sell power into the market. These brokers would be instructed by individual small-scale power generators and storage providers to sell their power according to the rules of the market and in accordance with the owner’s instructions.
4. The rules of the market would ensure a flow of power to the Grid with the purpose of stabilizing the grid. This would be done by a series of rule which may include the following:

After assessing the weather for a period, the market would become prepared to regulate the market for that period to ensure that bothBackground information:

The Australian power industry and the incorporation of Renewable Energy into the energy market.

Executive summary:

The aim is to ensure that the supply of energy to the Australian power network is reliable and considers the potential that a growing renewable energy sector may at times be subject to power outages.

This proposal is to design legislation that would ensure that the renewable sectors of the power Industry market are robust and able to accommodate fluctuations in the power supply from renewable sources.

The Legislation would have the following components:

1. Enabling clauses to give fairer prices to small-scale generators, including rooftop solar, pump hydro, wind generators and other embedded generator applications outlined in the report below.
2. Enable a market for renewable energy that incorporates both storage and renewable generation. This would incorporate storage applications such as outlined below in the report.
3. Legislation that would enable the main power market to operate alongside the Renewable Energy market, which operates across the larger national network. The object of this market would be to ensure that there are no more market failures in the Grid and that a controlled market mechanism with rules be established. The market controls would allow the operation of brokers, to sell power into the market. These brokers would be instructed by individual small-scale power generators and storage providers to sell their power according to the rules of the market and in accordance with the owner’s instructions.
4. The rules of the market would ensure a flow of power to the Grid with the purpose of stabilizing the grid. This would be done by a series of rule which may include the following:

After assessing the weather for a period, the market would become prepared to regulate the market for that period to ensure that both After assessing the weather for a period, the market would become prepared to regulate the market for that period to ensure that both storage and small-scale generation would be able to fill any short falls in power in the Grid or ensure that there is no glut of power on the market. This would be done through price. Sellers would be able to allow stored power to flow automatically through software applications when a price for power has reached appropriate prices during a weather event. In this way price and storage could be one of the main mechanisms to reduce risk of power outages through high use periods. It gives an incentive for small and median generators to purchase extra storage that would be released in high demand times.

There will be occasions where renewable power is not enough. At times like these, gas turbines should be able to come online. With the above mechanism there should be enough time to prepare these hybrid hydrogen/natural gas facilities like the Kurri Kurri power plant, in the Hunter region of NSW, to come online to assist in high demand situations. 

Gas supply to these facilities is crucial for the operation of these gas turbines. The legislation would create rules for the supply of gas, including hydrogen gas. It may be that gas contracts would not be reliant on the volume of the supply of gas but only ensure that there is a supply of gas as gas to these gas turbines will only flow when high demand situations are happening.

The legislation will also ensure that this is dovetailed into any other legislation and ensures that any Federal controls of the market are considered in the operation and rules of the legislation.

The legislation will be operated by a Federal Agency possibly called the “Renewable Energy and Battery storage market Agency of Australia”. It would be responsible for the compliance, and information, data and forecasts needed to assess the power needs of the Nation at any time.

Background

The National power Grid is connected to a few other States via 500Kvolt transmission lines. If these major lines are compromised in any way the market must adjusts, that means that it may leave areas of the state without power, the Agency must anticipate these compromises of Infrastructure maintenance or failure periods with appropriate contingency plans in place for any additional failures in the network.

The Australian power network has been under strain for some time with the closure of a number of the coal powered power stations the network is fortunate at the moment to have just enough power on line to sustain itself at present, this may not be case in future and this Agency must be prepared to ensure reliable supply of power.

But the State of South Australia, during 2017- 2016, often needed support from power from Victoria at peak times and during the night to sustain power supplies without implementing reserve power generation plants, because it had not developed systems at the time to be flexible as  is advocated by this Agency.

At the time in South Australia, this happened when one of the 500KV supply line was under maintenance and the other supply line from Victoria was blown over in a weather event. This temporarily isolated SA from the national Grid.

The major problem was that the market players were not able to react in a timely manner and kick in that reserve capacity simply because they did not have a bid in the market for the power at the time when the power was needed and gas supplies for gas turbines were not on-line and without a gas contract.

Further, the extra SA capacity was out of service on a semi-permanent basis because the owner had decided that it was not economic to run the gas plant when cheaper power was available to the state from Victoria, Due to this event South Austral has reformed its power network to ensure reliable power.

So clearly, there is a need for a backup plan for situations where supply could be compromised. That backup plan should include a permanent bid price for a gas turbine generator such as Pelican Point in South Australia. There also should be an incentive for the owners of reserve power generators to have all their gas turbine generators ready for service at any time.

With a gas turbine ready for service, it normally is a matter of simply pressing a button and the turbine fires up.

One of the main problems with the Pelican Point turbines not being used was it was out of service did not have a current gas supply agreement. This is a problem in that any agreement to supply gas would expect a certain amount of gas to be used in a calendar year. However, if the turbine is mostly used as a backup, the amount of gas used may be zero in a year.

This problem needs to be addressed.

Renewable energy integration into the network

Currently, Renewable energy is simply incorporated into the network as the sun shines and as the wind blows. There is no current strategy to use ti use this energy outside these conditions, as there is physically no way to do it except through a meter system using software to direct the energy from small scale generators to the Grid in strategic way.

However, as battery storage starts to come online in a range of forms, private owners of solar and wind generators will have a choice to store the energy for night-time use or let it flow straight to the Grid. Which brings us to the question of why would a generator use battery technology and store power for a later time?

One of the big concerns for consumers and in particular consumers who have invested in renewable energy systems is that they are being underpaid for the power they send to the Grid. This power is presently just going to the Grid and is used by power Retailer to generate income for the Retailer.

When a private generator has the choice of storage or direct delivery, they will supply power to the Grid based on their own usage of power and when they can get the best return on their power.

Now, these generators have no choice of how much money they receive for their power to the Grid. It is normally only a paltry 11 or 12 cent per Kwh paid by the power Retailers, who probably on sells this power at a considerable profit. If we consider that during the South Australian crisis in 2016-17 the price of power rose to $14000 perMWh, there should be some room for a fairer return to private generators.

If private owners could sell their power on the National Grid market through a broker interested in finding them the best price for their power and helping them look for a reason to employ battery storage to the Grid, then there would be more incentive for investment in battery storage by individuals.

This kind of enterprise in Australia will need a set of rules and regulations through an Act of State Parliaments or the Federal parliament or both. This would include what kind of generating power can be used at what times and maybe at what times of the year etc. Obviously, this will need some expansion. But for instance, if the market had available to it several types of battery storage including Lithium Iron, pump hydro or even Methane storage from council waste, then these should not be used in a market during the day that has plenty of solar capacity.[1]

A National Regulator would also be needed to oversee anything related to these Federal or state Acts. It would have to license the brokers and ensure that they operate within the rules. It could regulate the time at which different types of power could be sold onto the market.  

Subject to weather forecasts may regulate the available power in a quota that could be sold at a particular time from the renewable segment of the Australian’s power market in the Nation if required by interstate agreements.

The Act could possibly be called the “Renewable and allowable energy generation Act”. The Agency overseeing the Act could possibly be called the “Renewable Energy and Battery storage market Agency”.

This would lead the way for a renewed wave of renewable energy and electricity storage investment in Australia.

One of the options put forward was the introduction of a battery storage subsidy to help stimulate the battery storage capacity of Australia. The Agency may oversee a loan scheme for the purchase of new renewable energy appliances. It may be involved in licensing community projects on both private and public buildings etc. to generate power. It may oversee public financed schemes on public housing to help reduce the costs of power to public housing tenants.

There are a myriad of potential applications and responsibilities this agency could get involved in to ensure the adequate flow of power to the grid in Australia.

All the rules and regulations would be outlined by the new Act and detailed in a regulations document, remembering that the idea of battery storage is not limited to lithium iron technology but could be as simple as pump hydro or the production of hydrogen for use in a steam turbine.

The Act should address the transition processes related to the declining profits of traditional generator owners and the idea that gas turbine technology should have a profit provision for them to keep reserve power available to Grid.

A review of infrastructure

A review of the connectivity of the Australian network should be part of an overall strategy that would be overseen by the new Agency. It would direct the strengthening of various nodes where it may be proposed to concentrate new solar, wind and hydro, and, other, power generation projects. Its powers to do this should be derived from the new Federal Act.

Over time private investment in new infrastructure will transform the Australian high voltage line grid to a more useful network designed to incorporate battery storage, and connection to new locations more appropriate for renewable energy generation.

Following are some reference reports:

https://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Prices above %245000MWh  1 December  2016 12.16 am event %28SA%29_3.pdf Also see how the National market works under the Australian Energy Regulator (AER):

https://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Prices above %245000MWh  1 December  2016 12.16 am event %28SA%29_3.pdf 

.Council and other organization’s involvement in the network

[1] Councils and other organizations should be allowed to participate in a regulated way. Pump hydro, waste produced methane burnt to generate power and other scavenger generating methods should be allowed to participate in the market when solar and wind are reduced due to natural occurrences. Burning methane produces CO² gas. However, methane causes at least 105 time more atmospheric heating than CO². (Gas is not a clean energy) Also methane is not a fossil fuel in this case as it is not dug up from the ground as coal is, it is a by-product. If we can reduce it in the atmosphere this would reduce short-term warming effects. Methane also breaks down in the atmosphere in a period of 12 years into CO² so to have a policy to use this gas in gas turbines to produce carbon dioxide would eliminate the harmful effects of this gas in the atmosphere for 12 years until it breaks down into CO².

Ref.

Gas is not a clean energy, https://sites.google.com/site/gasisnotcleanenergy/, cited March 2017

by David Holland

Masters of environmental Management ( natural Resources)