Philip Jennings

Virtual power plants (VPPs) are an effective platform for attracting private investment and customer engagement to speed up the integration of green renewable resources. In this paper, a robust bidding strategy to participate in both energy and ancillary service markets in the wholesale electricity market is proposed for a realistic VPP in Western Australia. The strategy is accurate and fast, so the VPP can bid in a very short time period. To engage customers in the demand management schemes of the VPP, the gamified approach is utilized to make the exercise enjoyable while not compromising their comfort levels. The modelling of revenue, expenses, and profit for the load-following ancillary service (LFAS) is provided, and the effective bidding strategy is developed. The simulation results show a significant improvement in the financial indicators of the VPP when participating in both the LFAS and energy markets. The payback period can be improved by 3 years to the payback period of 6 years and the internal rate of return (IRR) by 7.5% to the IRR of 18% by participating in both markets. The accuracy and speed of the proposed bidding strategy method is evident when compared with a mathematical method.

Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are efficient structures for attracting private investment, increasing the penetration of renewable energy and reducing the cost of electricity for consumers. It is expected that the number of VPPs will increase rapidly as their financial return is attractive to investors. VPPs will provide added value to consumers, to power systems and to electricity markets by contributing to different services such as the energy and load-following services. One of the capabilities that will become critical in the near future, when large power plants are retired, is grid-forming capability. This review paper introduces the concept of grid-forming VPPs along with their corresponding technologies and their advantages for the new generation of power systems with many connected VPPs.

To integrate large-scale renewable energy into energy systems, an effective participation from private investors and active customer engagement are essential. Virtual power plants (VPPs) are a very promising approach. To realize this engagement, an efficient monitoring and control system needs to be implemented for the VPP to be flexible, scalable, secure, and cost-effective. In this paper, a realistic VPP in Western Australia is studied, comprising 67 dwellings, including a 810 kW rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system, a 700 kWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), a heat pump hot water system (HWS), an electric vehicle (EV) charging station, and demand management mechanisms. The practical and detailed concept design of the monitoring and control system for EEBUS-enabled appliances, and also for the PV and VRFB system, with smart inverters, is proposed. In addition, a practical fog-based storage and computing system is developed to enable the VPP owner to manage the PV, VRFB, and EV charging station for maximizing the benefit to the customers and the VPP owner. Further, the proposed cloud-based applications enable customers to participate in gamified demand response programs for increasing the level of their engagement while satisfying their comfort level. All proposed systems and architecture in this paper have the capability of being implemented fully and relevant references for practical devices are given where necessary.

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.

Achieving the renewable energy integration target will require the extensive engagement of consumers and the private sector in investment and operation of renewable-based energy systems. Virtual power plants are an efficient way to implement this engagement. In this paper, the detailed costs and benefits of implementing a realistic virtual power plant (VPP) in Western Australia, comprising 67 dwellings, are calculated. The VPP is designed to integrate and coordinate rooftop solar photovoltaic panels (PV), vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB), heat pump hot water systems (HWSs), and demand management mechanisms. An 810-kW rooftop solar PV system is designed and located using the HelioScope software. The charging and the discharging of a 700-kWh VRFB are scheduled for everyday use over a year using an optimization algorithm, to maximize the benefit of it for the VPP owners and for the residents. The use of heat pump HWSs provides a unique opportunity for the residents to save energy and reduce the total cost of electricity along with demand management on some appliances. The cost-and-benefit analysis shows that the cost of energy will be reduced by 24% per dwelling in the context of the VPP. Moreover, the internal rate of return for the VPP owner is at least 11% with a payback period of about 8.5 years, which is a promising financial outcome.

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.

The environmental impact of shale gas hydraulic fracturing is not completely understood. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to estimate the lifecycle environmental impact of shale gas production per mega joule (MJ) of energy extracted and delivered. The analysis is based on using CML 2001‐Apr 2015 methods in GaBi software on a case study of a shale gas well. The global warming potential (GWP100) ranges from 54 to 99 g CO2e /MJ with a central estimate of 72 g CO2e /MJ. The GWP 100, including land use change, is 230 g CO2e /MJ. The best‐case scenario, with no venting of the gas, has the minimum GWP 100 impact. Shale gas has a high marine ecotoxicity potential, among other environmental impacts. Bentonite contributes the most to the abiotic depletion potential elements impact. The frac water contributes the most to the freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity potential (FAETP) impact. Mercury (Hg) and radioactive elements (e.g., radon) are the major pollutants contributing to the terrestrial ecotoxicity potential impacts. The findings of this study can be used for optimization of the processes used by mining and exploration companies.

Core-shell self-powered SiNWs homojunction photosensors have been fabricated. SiNWs are prepared by a metal assisted chemical etching method using different HF/H2O2 ratios and etching times. The length of the p-SiNWs increased as the H2O2 concentration and etching time increased. All the grown SiNWs show very low (∼0.7%) optical reflectance for the wavelength range of 200–1100 nm. Photoluminescence spectra of all prepared SiNWs show sharp and broad emission bands located in the red region of the light spectrum. Core-shell homojunction photosensors were fabricated by spin coating P2O2 onto the surface of the prepared p-SiNWs and annealed at 900 °C for 1 h. The fabricated devices exhibited photovoltaic behavior and high photosensitivity with fast response speed to the visible light. However, the sample that was fabricated using HF/H2O2 ratio of 1:1 showed the highest photosensitivity value of 3578% while the photosensor prepared using 2:1 ratio of HF/H2O2 gave the faster rise and decay time.

State of the environment (SoE) reporting has been in place in the majority of Australian jurisdictions since the early 1990s. Over the past decade, the process has stalled in Western Australia (WA) and, at present, shows no sign of reappearing. This is all the more serious since the degraded condition of the state’s environment calls out for regular review, analysis and action. We place this in a wider framework by (a) considering the significance of SoE reporting as a matter of collective responsibility, (b) mapping out a program of necessary legislative reform for WA and (c) outlining the challenges confronting SoE reporting as an act of public communication. Our thesis throughout is that SoE reporting combines ethical, democratic and environmental dimensions, and that the significance of WA’s withdrawal from the process can only be understood in this context.