Philip Jennings

Virtual power plants (VPPs) are becoming critical parts of energy systems to increase renewable energy integration and to reduce the cost of electricity. To maximize the benefits to customers and VPP owners, the consumers' engagement is important for adding flexibility to the electricity load of the VPP. In this paper, the impact of customer contributions into a VPP energy management system through gamification is studied. To this aim, the contribution of customers within a realistic VPP of 67 dwellings in Western Australia is modelled. This model is included in a robust optimized procedure to maximize the profit of a VPP owner over a year. In this platform the uncertainties associated with renewable energy generation and market electricity are considered to find the optimum solution for the worst case scenario of uncertainties. The simulation results show that the gamified customer involvement has positive impacts on increasing the profit of the VPP.

Virtual power plants (VPPs) are defined as an aggregator of different types of energy resources and flexibility, coordinated by VPP owner through a smart control system. A correct establishment of a VPP will result in reduced electricity costs for the consumers within the VPP. One of the key aspect of VPP’s success is the consumer engagement in order to manage their flexibilities effectively. Gamification is an efficient way of learning and engagement, which can efficiently change the behavior of consumers towards participating in programs provided by VPPs for energy cost reduction. In this paper, a gamification-based approach for consumer engagement is proposed and a methodology based on Fogg’s behavior model and Kim’s model on player types is developed to examine the suitability of available gamification applications for energy saving/efficiency in the context of a VPP. Seven gamification applications are analyzed and evaluated based on the developed methodology and the results are provided.

This paper presents an algorithm for optimal placement of phasor measurement units (PMUs) in electric distribution networks to obtain predefined probabilistic relative errors in magnitude and angle for a distribution system state estimation (DSSE). The probabilistic relative error is introduced to consider the effect of failure probability (FP) and sending bad data probability (BDP) of PMUs. In this paper, the probabilistic relative error is defined as the expected value of the relative error values corresponding to the operating states of PMUs, which are calculated from Monte Carlo simulations. The binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) is adapted to find the optimal number and locations of PMUs in a distribution network. The simulation results on 6-bus and 34-bus IEEE radial distribution networks show the effect of FP and BDP on the PMU placement as well as the performance of the proposed algorithm.

Abstract: The palm oil crop is Malaysia’s major agricultural commodity and is responsible for 71% of agricultural land use in Malaysia. Despite ongoing criticism of the industry’s environmental impacts, Malaysia is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and anthropogenic emissions by utilising the huge renewable energy resource embodied in its palm oil solid and liquid wastes. This is to be achieved by eliminating most of the waste from the palm oil industry, which currently account for 85.5% of the total biomass production in the country. The Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme, which has been introduced to replace the Small Renewable Energy Programme (SREP), is designed to increase the renewable energy share in the country’s energy mix while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The FiT regime endeavours to stimulate sustainable growth of the renewable energy industry by setting an ambitious 2,080MW capacity target in year 2020 and 21,370MW by 2050. This in turn would translate to an estimated cumulative total of 45.7 and 629.2 million tonnes of CO2 eq emissions avoided by 2020 and 2050 respectively. Both solid and liquid palm oil wastes are eligible for support under the FiT. The palm oil biomass industry is planned to dominate the domestic low carbon industry with a significant 800MW of grid-connected capacity in 2020 and 1,340MW in 2030. These capacities correspond to a cumulative total of 17.6 million tonnes CO2 eq and 29.5 million tonnes CO2 eq emissions removal by considering that electricity generation from renewable resources displaces the generation of power from conventional fuels. On the other hand, methane gas (biogas) produced from the palm oil liquid waste is projected to generate 240MW in year 2020 and 410MW in 2028, hence contributing about 151.2 tonnes CO2 eq and 258.3 tonnes CO2 eq annual avoidance in the respective year. This study investigates the sustainability of components of the biomass downstream power generation system, particularly the fuel supply, technology application and alternatives to grid extension that have a major effect on the FiT capacity target. A combination of surveys, interviews and focus group meetings with industry stakeholders and Government regulators is used to identify barriers and to explore options for facilitating the development of the palm oil biomass renewable energy industry. The work recommends strategies for accelerating the sustainable development of this industry and contributing towards turning Malaysia into a low carbon economy.

The palm oil industry contributes 85.5% of the total biomass that is readily available in Malaysia [1]. Despite an abundance of palm oil biomass wastes that have potential for large-scale power generation, the Small Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) which began in 2001 has failed to stimulate the growth of the industry [2]. Drawing on the lessons learnt from past setbacks, the recently introduced renewable energy policy and Feed-in Tariff (FiT) instrument have significantly improved the market structure and institutionalised the industry. Nevertheless, less attention has been given to addressing the long-term impediments that have hindered the biomass power production downstream system. Therefore, sustainable measures are critical if Malaysia is to achieve its goal of increasing the contribution of renewable energy to the energy mix from 1% to 11% by the year 2020. The sustainability parameters that need the most attention include: the issue of improving the security of biomass supply; enhancing the bio-energy conversion technology; and, designing a more attractive interconnection scheme to the electricity grid.

The palm oil industry is one of Malaysia major agricultural enterprises. There is considerable controversy about its environmental impacts and a major effort is underway to make it more sustainable. One approach to this objective is to minimize the waste from this industry by converting it into useful products, such as renewable energy. Palm oil biomass accounts for 85.5% of the total biomass production in Malaysia. The Small Renewable Energy Power (SREP) scheme, which began in 2001, was a tool that was intended to propel renewable energy development, but it failed to stimulate the growth of the industry. To rejuvenate the industry, a new Feed-in Tariff (FiT) regime was introduced in 2011 with an ambitious 2080MW target by the year 2020. Palm oil biomass is projected to contribute 800MW of grid-connected capacity towards this target, a huge step from the 40MW capacity reached during the SREP period. This study investigates whether the current downstream value chain system is capable of supporting such a high capacity goal. The research questions address the sustainability of fuel supply, bio-energy conversion technology and the costs and alternatives to grid extension. The results from this study will inform future policy strategies. The research methods include a combination of quantitative (survey) and qualitative (in-depth interview and focus group meeting) techniques. The author has found that it is worthwhile to explore the potential use of less sought after by-products such as large fibre and palm frond. Centralizing the biomass conversion technology at a hub facility offers an attractive approach to small producers. Smart-partnership collaboration for building a large-scale biomass plant is worthy of consideration as it would lower the business risk and increase the economies of scale. Finally, the high cost of building transmission infrastructure to remote areas can be avoided by extensively promoting decentralized generation.

The solar photovoltaic (PV) industry has achieved impressive growth by producing 1,818 MW of solar cells (93.5% crystalline) in 2005, an increase of almost 45% over the previous year. However the PV industry, which has been dependent on the supply of the basic raw material (silicon) from the waste of the semiconductor industry, now faces an acute shortage of supply. The price of polysilicon has reached a peak of US$400/kg on the spot market, over ten times the long to medium term supply contract price. To overcome the shortage of silicon feedstock, a number of new solar silicon plants and processes have been announced by the PV industry. This paper discusses the implications of this shortage and the effect of new manufacturing facilities for the future of the crystalline silicon PV technology in the foreseeable future. It also discusses whether, crystalline silicon will lose its place of dominance from its current 93.5% market share, to thin film technologies, such as amorphous silicon and CIGS, or whether crystalline technology will continue to dominate after overcoming the temporary shortage of silicon supply?.

Over the past five years solar photovoltaic (PV) power supply systems have matured and are now being deployed on a much larger scale. The traditional small-scale remote area power supply systems are still important and village electrification is also a large and growing market but large scale, grid-connected systems and building integrated systems are now being deployed in many countries. This growth has been aided by imaginative government policies in several countries and the overall result is a growth rate of over 40% per annum in the sales of PV systems. Optimistic forecasts are being made about the future of PV power as a major source of sustainable energy. Plans are now being formulated by the IEA for very large-scale PV installations of more than 100 MW peak output. The Australian Government has announced a subsidy for a large solar photovoltaic power station of 154 MW in Victoria, based on the concentrator technology developed in Australia. In Western Australia a proposal has been submitted to the State Government for a 2 MW photovoltaic power system to provide fringe of grid support at Perenjori. This paper outlines the technologies, designs, management and policies that underpin these exciting developments in solar PV power.