PECT

Most of us working in the power sector in Australia are aware of the many challenges the power system and electricity market faces as we transition to renewables. This presentation takes a look outside of Australia to a country also navigating the transition but with some differences in the challenges it faces.

In late 2022, Singapore committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 as part of their Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategy. The country currently relies heavily on gas as it’s primary fuel for power generation and with geographical land constraints, locally built renewable options are very limited. Therefore, they are looking at alternative solutions to reduce energy sector emissions including overseas renewable imports, transitioning the existing generation fleet to run on hydrogen blend fuels and new technologies such as geothermal.

This presentation examines a current policy issue critical to Australia’s Clean Energy Transition: integrating end consumer-owned Distributed Energy Resources into the electricity grid.

DER integration is a remarkably complex problem involving end consumer behaviour, transactions involving multiple parties, energy market reforms, policy development and politics, technology economics and innovation. The electricity system is complex; the market, regulations, policy, and politics overlap and intersect with the technical aspects. These factors contribute to energy policy uncertainties and other barriers.

This presentation outlines how ‘complexity theory’ and a ‘system thinking approach’ can be used to navigate DER integration policy development.

QUT gratefully acknowledges RACE for 2030 CRC in the award of a PhD write-up scholarship

Australia’s DER integration journey still has far to go, with just a third of household rooftops utilised and far fewer community, commercial and industrial rooves tapped. Nonetheless behind the meter solar is now supporting the economics of other consumer owned DER such as flexible loads, electric vehicles and storage.

This talk will review the progress made to date and the technologies needed within distribution networks to enable ubiquitous DER, sharing the results from a recent international survey of distribution utilities (undertaken on behalf of CIGRE C6). Building on the voltage management seminar presented at QUT PECT in May 2019, this talk will delve into the latest developments on Queensland’s distribution networks, where reverse flows are increasingly common and dynamic operating envelopes are being introduced to address emerging thermal constraints.

Synchronous Machines and DFIM Using HF Transformer and DC/DC Converter for Offshore Wind Turbines

Presented by Professor Junwei Lu from Griffith University, 20 October 2023.

To guarantee the withstand of the internal arc generated inside the switchgear during a short-circuit and the safe relief of the hot and toxic gases produced is very important to assure the safety of the personnel operating and maintaining the plant.

The presentation will cover the following topics:

1. Understanding the effects of an internal arc inside a MV or HV switchgear enclosures.
2. Estimating the consequences of the internal arc such as pressure rise and enclosure burn-through.
3. Examining the influence of the pressure devices in a switchgear.
4. Utilising the type tests methods and current standards to ensure the switchgear withstand against an internal arc failure.
5. What are the different behaviours of testing the switchgear with SF6 and with air.

Grid scale renewable energy (RE) projects, such as solar PV and wind farms, are often remotely located in areas of high RE availability, and require significant grid connection and transmission assets. For Renewable Energy Export projects, such as the 20 GWp Suncable project, these transmission assets are massive projects in their own right.

To best utilise the massive balance of project capital investments for any RE project, but particularly for Renewable Energy Export projects, the capacity factors of the attached RE generation will need to significantly rise from the current best figures of 27-29% for PV and 41-47% for wind. This can be achieved by over-sizing the RE installations and co-locating low cost stationary storage.

In this talk I discuss the ideas of oversizing PV installations, DC vs AC side PV storage, and other novel advantages which can flow from DC side PV storage.  Both, a local domestic system and the massive Suncable project are used as case studies.

South Australia has world leading integration of inverter based resources including distributed PV. The increasing level of inverter based resources has accelerated the retirement of synchronous generation and dropped net power system demand close to zero on occasion.

This talk provides an overview of these challenges these operating conditions have created, along with solutions implemented and issues still to be resolved.

Businesses of all sizes, spanning diverse industries, are currently embarking on a parallel transformational path involving both digitalization and sustainability. The objective behind this collective effort is to enhance overall business value and sustain competitiveness. Notably, enterprises within sectors such as energy and mining are actively seeking to unlock value by harnessing the synergies arising from the convergence of digital technology and sustainability principles.

The purpose of this presentation is to explore the twin transformation within the energy sector. The discussion will include an examination of prevailing trends, challenges, and, how cloud technology can serve as a pivotal catalyst in facilitating the twin transformation journey within the energy domain.

The increasing penetration of non-synchronous renewable energy sources (NS-RES) alters the dynamic characteristic and, consequently, the frequency behaviour of the system. To accurately identify these changing trends and address them in a systemic way, it is crucial to assess a large number of scenarios. Given this, Dr Shabir presents a frequency stability assessment framework based on a time-series approach that facilitates the analysis of a large number of future power system scenarios.

Second, the application of the framework to assess the frequency stability of the Australian future power system by considering a large number of future scenarios and the sensitivity of different parameters will be presented. This leads to identifying a maximum non-synchronous instantaneous penetration range from the frequency stability point of view for the Australian system.

Third, to reduce the detrimental impacts of high NS-RES penetration on system frequency stability, a dynamic inertia constraint is derived and incorporated into the market dispatch model. The performance and frequency stability of the system with such a constraint is assessed. Then, the contribution of synchronous condensers, synthetic inertia of wind farms and a governor-like response from de-loaded wind farms on system frequency stability is assessed and quantified.

Finally, a wind farm coordinated operation strategy is proposed, and the contribution of wind farms to frequency control is quantified.

This presentation covers the development of real-time synthetic grids and their role in the development of modular power system digital twins (PSDTs). It demonstrates how synthetic networks offer an open platform for power systems dominated by power electronics, and their expansion to real-life equivalent models, with the S-NEM2300-bus benchmark model as a prime example. It also highlights the transition from benchmark models to digital twins, the adoption of a modular development approach and how an integration with AI-based applications expands PSDT capabilities across various domains and services.

Over the last decade, we have seen a radical shift in the power system from large synchronous generators to distributed inverter-based resources. This shift has forced us to rethink how we operate the system as new phenomena emerge that threaten power system security.

Wide Area Monitoring Systems is one such technology that AEMO has been investing in, to help us face these new challenges. Based on high resolution synchrophasor data being streamed in real-time from all over the NEM and advanced on-line data analytics, AEMO has greater visibility over the power system than ever before.

This presentation will highlight what’s in the NEM currently, what is planned for future, including major generation projects, expected demand, proposed transmission network augmentations, coal retirements timing, and future technical challenges after coal retirements. Also a summary of what is involved in electricity market modelling, including MLF and network congestion, will be provided.

Overall the following topics will be covered:

1. Who are we?
2. What is involved in EY electricity market modelling.
3. Australia’s energy transition.
4. The NEM today and future.
5. The challenges ahead.

Join our multidisciplinary research staff and students for this showcase where we highlight our engagements in Power Engineering research activities and coursework. Meet our world class research academics, representatives of student clubs, postgraduate and undergraduate students sharing their journeys at QUT.

Australia is on its track to becoming the renewable energy superpower globally. Aging coal retirements, falling cost of renewable energies, and government commitment to emission reductions provide more certainty for the renewable energy project developers to penetrate into the electricity grid. Though integrating renewable energy into the grid is promising, it presents some challenges which need to be addressed to ensure system security and reliability. In this regard, energy storage is a viable solution to operate the grid resiliently.

The presentation discusses the role of the energy storage system as the enabler of renewable energy uptake and how it helps achieve Net Zero targets by 2050.

Queensland has recently released the Energy and Jobs Plan, which captures a range of actions relating to continuing to create a new green hydrogen industry for the State. Future work to develop the hydrogen industry includes a commitment of up to $15 million to supercharge, coordinate and further plan for hydrogen hubs in key locations across the state.

This work will build on the recently released ‘Enabling Queensland’s Hydrogen production and export opportunities’ report. This report provides foundational information for the emerging renewable hydrogen industry in Queensland.

The report is designed to provide a supply side analysis by considering the fundamental factors including power, water, separation, port infrastructure and waste that are all required for the production and export of renewable hydrogen.

The work covers regions adjacent to 14 of Queensland ports, with a more detailed focus on the major ports of Gladstone, Townsville, Hay Point/Mackay and Abbot Point.

The Department of Energy and Public Works will present an update on work completed to date and next steps.

In this talk, we will discuss a couple of modelling and management methods for complex engineering systems, from aircraft to power generators to power and energy systems.

We first illustrate the parameter estimation of superposed failure data from aircrafts and develop the Wiener degradation model with unit-to-unit variability for service-based maintenance of gas turbines. We also demonstrate the AI techniques for predictive maintenances and load forecasting in power and energy systems. We then discuss the modelling, prediction, and optimization of smart grids subject to cyber-attacks.

Finally, we briefly introduce the resilience of infrastructure networks from the perspective of system engineering in 21st century.

This presentation will highlight some of the main challenges affecting the low voltage distribution networks in Australia in terms of increased uptake of distributed generation such as rooftop solar PV, high nominal voltage, voltage unbalance and reverse power flow. Current and future possible solutions will also be discussed, followed by EcoJoule’s own practical solutions such as the EcoVAR Voltage Regulator and EcoSTORE Community Energy Storage.

The numbers of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are growing rapidly throughout the world and, accordingly, they have drawn lots of attention because of their various potential functions on the grid. The main functions of EV chargers, grid to vehicle (G2V) and vehicle to grid (V2G), are supported by bidirectional power-electronics converters as the key components of EV chargers. Moreover, EV chargers can be utilised to provide ancillary functions for the grid (particularly residential networks), such as reactive power support, voltage regulation and/or harmonics reduction.

Nowadays, one of the main barriers to EV market growth is the insufficient number of charging stations. Even with satisfactory progress in building charging stations in some countries, there is still a big concern among customers toward an emergency situation when their EV battery becomes unexpectedly flat and they do not have access to a charging station. Furthermore, the transient caused by the charging/discharging operation of EV chargers and its impact on the grid is another concern from the increased penetration of EV chargers.

This talk will discuss how the power quality issues and voltage regulations can be addressed using coordinated EV charging and discharging controllers. First it will discuss the control capability of EVs in device level and then its impact on the system’s performance. It will discuss a need-based (event-triggered) distributed control of EVs for ensuring satisfactory dynamic response of distributed power systems with EVs. Finally, it will discuss how coordinated operation of EVs, PV and batteries can reduce peak demand.

As the energy transition accelerates and our customers continue to adopt net-zero carbon solutions, there will be impacts right across the electricity supply chain. This presentation reviews the magnitude of the challenge, the risks and opportunities for distribution businesses to support our customers energy ambitions.

The distribution networks in Queensland currently have a combined total installed PV generation of over 4.2GW, this is far greater than the largest coal power station. The installed PV penetration is expected to more than double to 2030 and could be over 10GW at this time. This will all be occurring at a time when Electric Vehicle and energy storage adoption is expected to grow rapidly.  Supporting technology adoption by our customers at this scale will dramatically change the way energy flows through the distribution network, requiring new technologies and new ways of working.

The recent grid problems for AEMO have finally shifted the language of Australia’s politicians and leaders from “we need more renewables” to “we need more renewables and storage”. While the new focus on the need for storage has been a welcome change in the vernacular and a prerequisite for true grid transformation, renewable energy storage remains limited in the common thinking to pumped hydro or batteries, with hydrogen off in the future.

Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CSP) systems, initially designed in the 1980’s to generate electricity directly from collected thermal energy, have evolved over the last 15 years into split systems with energy collection and electricity generation separated by thermal storage. With 6.5 GW/25 GWh of CSP plants currently operational globally, and a further 1 GW/13 GWh under construction, CSP is neither experimental nor fully mature.

The majority of new CSP plants feature 10+ hours of storage, are designed to generate electricity mostly or only at night, and are contracting at below USD100/MWh for daily dispatchable energy.

Vast Solar has developed an improvement on the existing CSP plants by using molten sodium as the heat transfer fluid (HTF). Sodium, safely used for decades as a HTF by nuclear power plants, enables both higher efficiency and larger plants sizes than traditional CSP plants. Vast Solar demonstrated the technology in their 1MW plant, operated continuously for 3 years from 2018 to 2021. They will be building their first commercial CSP project in South Australia, commencing in 2023, and have a variety of other plants in development both in Australia and globally.

Dr Leslie will discuss the current status of the global CSP market and Vast Solar’s place in the market. More broadly he will also discuss the barriers to entry for new technology, especially for delivery at commercial scale rather than proof of concept.

The integration of communication networks into physical processes with sensors, controllers and actuators has led to the emergence of networked Cyberphysical Systems (CPSs). Controlled CPSs are increasingly being deployed in safety-critical applications, including power grids, water distribution networks, healthcare and aviation. Unfortunately, the adoption of communication networks as part of control systems makes these systems more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

In this talk, we consider a remote state estimation problem and study how transmission scheduling can be used to improve CPS resilience against eavesdropping by an adversary. The objective is to determine at which instances the sensor should transmit, so that the CPS can operate reliably, but an eavesdropper cannot gather sufficient information to track the process state. This is done by solving an optimisation problem that examines the expected estimation error covariances. It turns out that, with unstable systems, one can keep the expected estimation error covariance bounded while the expected eavesdropper error covariance becomes unbounded.

Taking the control of a household microgrid as an example, it is shown how simple embellishments to control algorithms have the potential to improve the operational security of a CPSs without requiring significant computational resources.

QUT Motorsport (QUTMS) is a student-run team that designs, manufactures, and competes with a four-wheel drive, all-electric formula-style race car. Every year the team participates in the Australian Formula Student competition, which includes both static (business, design) and dynamic (track) events. Initially founded in 2004 building internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, the team transitioned to a fully electric (EV) four-wheel drive powertrain in 2014 with in-hub motors and gearboxes. This change saw the team diversify into other fields of engineering and other faculties, now a team of 125 students strong.

The QUTMS project provides a unique opportunity for students to engage with a complex, real-world project which allows them to apply and extend their courseworks learnings and skills, and engage with diverse local and international industry partners and sponsors. QUTMS also supports a range of projects across the undergraduate, postgraduate and research domains.

The team’s 2020/21 electric vehicle, QEV-3, features a four-wheel drive, extra-low voltage (72V) tractive system based on a 4 kWh LiFePO4 battery pack and permanent magnet AC motors, developing 20 kW and 180 Nm of torque at the wheels. QEV-3 will be retrofitted in 2022 to compete in the driverless competition. For the 2022 competition QUTMS is transitioning towards a low voltage (600V) tractive system design, initially two-wheel drive, targeting 70 kW and 750 Nm.

In this seminar we will provide an introduction to and overview of both, the Formula Student competition and QUT Motorsport team. We will highlight some of the design challenges and novel design aspects in the car, the team’s successes to date, ongoing projects and innovations, and future outlook.

With the rapid advancement of the power grid, substation automation systems (SASs) have been developing continuously. In recent decades, many utility companies have been replacing and upgrading their existing hardwired legacy control systems to “smart” systems, which are compliant with the IEC 61850 standard. The standard introduced different communication protocols among various intelligent electronic devices within substations. These IEC 61850 compliant SASs involve different advanced features, including remote control, easy auto-configuration, and high-speed real-time communication. However, with connections to external networks, these new features also increase potential cyber security vulnerabilities. Additionally, the end-point devices, such as intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) and remote terminal units (RTUs), usually come from different vendors and may not be fully trusted.

From the design specification stage to the deployment and operational stage, a new device may become an untrusted component at any point. Untrusted devices may stealthily perform harmful or unauthorised behaviours, which could compromise or damage SASs, and therefore, bring adverse impacts to the primary plant. Thus, it is necessary to detect abnormal behaviours from an untrusted device before it brings about catastrophic impacts. Anomaly detection techniques are suitable to detect anomalies in SASs as they only bring minimal side-effects to normal system operations. Existing off-the-shelf detection systems and techniques cannot effectively detect ‘‘stealthy’’ attacks, which modify legitimate messages slightly while imitating patterns of benign behaviours.

In this talk, we present a sliding window-based sequential classification mechanism to detect stealthy attacks from untrusted devices within SASs. As a result, our method can detect insider attacks across multiple devices accurately with a false-negative rate of less than 1%.

This year’s opening PECT seminar again reviews the continuing rapid growth in Australia’s renewable energy sector over the last year, with a round-up of some of the key statistics and milestones for 2021.

This growth has led to transmission network reviews and formal announcements of renewable energy zones (REZ) in NSW and Queensland. Some of the notable major renewable projects will be highlighted, as will the Powerlink Transmission network upgrade between Townsville and Cairns which supports Queensland’s Northern renewable energy zone.

Both transmission and distribution network planners are also having to decide how to manage an increasingly variable source of generation. Options such as more storage, demand management, and generation control are all possible solutions. Planning for and enabling them quickly, and hopefully at lowest cost, is an ongoing challenge. Energex are examining MW scale batteries as a genuine mechanism for delivering distribution network capacity upgrades, and all Distribution Network Service Providers (DNSPs) are examining Dynamic Operating Envelopes (DOEs) to better manage Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). I will talk about both, and I promise to include a glossary slide!

Traditionally, the electricity network served as a one-way conduit delivering power from generators to customers. Looking to a future with customer owned solar PV generation, batteries and electric vehicles (EVs), a healthy electricity network will continue to play a critical role in facilitating each customer’s ability to transact energy in a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) framework. The management of voltage profile and peak loading in the Low-Voltage and Medium-Voltage network then becomes of paramount importance. Hydrogen now enters this equation as an important addition to the electricity network for energy storage, energy export and industrial downstream feedstock.

Our three presenters will discuss progress in battery and microgrids technology, hydrogen fuel cell and electrolyser technology and their integration in a future energy grid.

QUT is at the international forefront of research into characterising high-temperature superconducting (HTS) materials. This research program aims to investigate and characterise the performance of selected HTS commercial tapes to gain a more complete knowledge of:

• the link between nano and micro magnetic vortex behaviour of various HTS materials;
• vortex macro performance in technologically significant magnetic fields;
• tape characterisation measurement procedures and data analysis methods;
• and performance of extended lengths of tape due to manufacturing defects, which in turn impacts on the flux vortex behaviour.

Based on this knowledge, QUT’s HTS materials research program directly supports the industry and defence in its assessment of the suitability of Naval HTS technologies and providing more accurate models to improve the performance of HTS end applications.

It is the intention of the research to provide emerging designers of HTS based devices and components a clear path to achieve accurate outcomes of the design process.  The matching of commercial HTS conductors to the potential of novel superconducting based devices and components requires detailed microscopic information of the HTS conductors to achieve success. This talk presents the building blocks under development at QUT which are leading to this outcome.

At present, the network connection process provides information on establishing or modifying connections to the transmission and distribution networks in the National Electricity Market (NEM).    A person wishing to connect a generation to the NEM (Connection Applicant) must liaise with the local Network Service Provider (NSP) and AEMO. Across the NEM, AEMO’s role as Market and System Operator is to assess and negotiate performance standards that could affect power system security. AEMO is also involved in assessing the site specific model of committed generation, commissioning and post-commissioning activities.

In this presentation, we discuss the technical challenges that renewable projects across the NEM are facing to get connected to the network. Further, we discuss the recent trends in the electricity industry regarding the integration of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESS) in distribution systems. This includes trends towards enhancing the hosting capacity of renewable projects and distributed energy resources (DERs) in the NEM.

Bifacial photovoltaic is a new cell design that has replaced opaque, monolithic back surface foil contacts with isolated contacts, allowing light to reach the cell from the rear side. This leads to a rear gain and consequently higher efficiency than the same size monofacial cell/module.

The bifacial photovoltaic market has been growing beyond expectations in recent years due to its relatively higher efficiency, leading to higher energy yield and, consequently, lower Levelized Costs of Electricity (LCOE).  These advantages are helping the bifacial PV cells, modules, and systems rapidly overtake the market share of monofacial PV technologies. According to the International Roadmap for Photovoltaic (ITRPV), bifacial technology implementation is expected to grow from 12% in 2019 to nearly 70% of total global installations by 2030. The Global bifacial module market report 2019 estimated the global bifacial demand to reach 12 GW in 2020 and 20 GW in 2024.

Despite all the advantages and potential that bifacial PV has, the bifacial system design is challenging. The rear gain increases the system’s complexity due to more complex degradation mechanisms and non-homogeneous rear gain.

This talk will look at the history of bifacial PV, the trends in the development of bifacial PV, current status, potential, and challenges in bifacial PV system design and deployment.

Despite the urgent case for bringing new energy technologies to the marketplace, the delivery of these innovations has been frustratingly slow, often taking several decades to develop even the most promising ideas into novel technologies that achieve a significant amount of market penetration. The pathway for delivering new energy technologies is frequently discussed in the literature in a vague and aggregated way, but innovation tends to consist of a series of partially overlapping processes consisting of: (1) the production of scientific and technological knowledge, (2) the translation of that knowledge into working technologies or artifacts, and (3) the introduction of the artifacts into the marketplace, where they are matched with users’ requirements. However, relatively little data are available showing how long each of these processes takes for energy technologies.

This presentation will combine information from patent applications with bibliographic data to shine light on the second process – that is, the translation of scientific knowledge into working prototypes. Our results show that energy technologies take an average of approximately 10 years to pass through this phase.  These findings will help policymakers to devise more effective mechanisms and strategies for accelerating the overall rate of technological change in this domain.

The growing use of electric vehicles (EVs), mobile devices, automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and advanced implantable medical devices has renewed interest in developing novel battery charger systems in both academia and industry.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) chargers have numerous useful features and their own challenges and complexities. WPT systems are becoming significantly attractive in some applications, including humid conditions, high-risk and/or dangerous environments. The development of resonant power converters in WPT is continuing and issues such as the presence of other receivers, transmitters and foreign objects have an impact on their operation and the field.

In this seminar presentation, various potential applications of WPT systems will be discussed that illustrate how the use of WPT systems can revolutionise some industries. Solutions to the challenges of WPT systems will also be discussed.

H2Xport Project – A Pilot Scale Renewable Hydrogen Plant

There is significant interest in hydrogen energy for decarbonising the electricity and transport industries to enable the commitments toward climate neutrality and net zero emissions. There is a new export demand for hydrogen energy to regions that are deficient in renewable energy. This demand along with the substantial technological progress in fuel cells and lower cost of renewables, such as solar, is creating a rapid growth in the hydrogen energy industry.

In this seminar we will discuss QUT’s H2Xport Project that is an ARENA funded project with University and Industry partners. The flagship activity in the project is a flexible, plug and play, 50kW pilot plant with both, CPV and SiPV solar technologies, and multiple technology types of batteries, fuel cells and electrolysers. A description of the pilot scale renewable hydrogen plant will be provided along with the learnings so far.

Cross River Rail Project

Cross River Rail is a new 10.2 kilometer rail line from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills, which includes 5.9 kilometers of twin tunnels under the Brisbane River and the CBD, four new underground stations, eight rebuilt aboveground stations and three new stations on the Gold Coast. The project also includes new signalling technology, the European Train Control System, which will allow trains to operate closer together, enabling trains to run more efficiently and with greater safety. Each of the Cross River Rail’s high-capacity stations will generate unique opportunities for urban renewal, economic development, the revitalisation of inner-city precincts and new employment opportunities.

Cross River Rail has now entered its second year of construction and work is underway at over 12 worksites across South East Queensland. 2021 is the ‘Year of Tunnelling’ for the project, with two Tunnel Boring Machines – Else and Merle now excavating 3.6 kilometers of twin tunnels from Woolloongabba to Normanby, and major works continuing at all underground stations.

Please join Graeme Newton to hear more about Queensland’s $5.4 billion priority infrastructure project, which will transform how people travel to, through and from the CBD, and how the Cross River Rail will help Brisbane continue to evolve as a world-class city.

This presentation will start with a high level discussion on the needs and trends of Australian residential aged care (RAC) over the coming 30 years. The issue at the centre of the smooth and safe operating of aged care is energy security.

Energy use profiles and key performance indicators of RACs across States are presented and compared with international studies. Using this background, the significant factors impacting the energy performance of RACs are discussed.

The presentation will continue from this point to consider how lockdown has impacted on RACs’ energy use and peak demand. To address this question, six aged care facilities from four different climate zones across 2500km of eastern Australia are analysed for their energy use, peak demand and demand profiles for the interval of the first lockdown in 2020.

This study draws out conclusions and insights that the author considers to be of value to RAC sector going forward in uncertain times.

Adaptive Renewable Energy Plants – Towards a Clean Energy Sector