Energy Markets at UNSW

Striving towards least-cost and least-regret integration of renewables into energy markets.

Collaboration on Energy and Environmental Markets - CEEM

We are cognisant of Australia’s role in the global energy transition and seek to extend the impact of our work beyond our borders.

Our work focuses on the challenges and opportunities of clean energy transition within market-oriented electricity industries. We believe in data-driven research inputs and open-source research outputs. To achieve this goal, we are focused on research and development in four key areas:

  • CER/DER: Investigating emerging markets, regulation and business models for integrating customer / distributed energy resources.
  • Sector transitions: Developing open-source modelling of, and tools for, energy markets, tariff design, renewables purchasing and local energy optimisation.
  • Interdisciplinary: Bringing together engineers, social science, economics and law to inform energy market and policy development.
  • Global markets: Supporting the development of new energy markets including partnering with our Pacific neighbours and global energy importers.

Key initiatives

Our Collaboration on Energy and Environmental Markets (CEEM) has two decades of experience of data-driven research in energy sector transitions with a portfolio of open-source tools including: NEMPY, NEMOSIS, NEMSEER, NEMGLO, and NEMED.

Other projects include:

  • Project MATCH which is establishing a robust monitoring and analysis toolbox to better understand the behaviour of DER in major grid disturbances and the implications for power system security.
  • Project CANVAS which developed a tool to understand the impacts and role of solar curtailment in response to power quality issues on the electricity network.
  • Project ESKIES which is increasing community understanding of the role of solar, batteries, and other DER in maintaining electricity supply to regional and rural communities during extreme weather events.
On 27 January 2023, Minister Bowen and Minister Stark-Watzinger released a joint summary report on the Australia-Germany supply chain feasibility study following two years collaboration between German and Australian consortia to investigate the feasibility of a hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives supply chain between Australia and Germany and identify how such partnership can be facilitated. UNSW

Our opportunity to support the energy transition of our Pacific neighbours

Australia is uniquely positioned to support the energy transition of our neighbouring countries in the Pacific region. In particular, Australia has the potential to produce excess renewable energy resources that could be shared across borders. In the context of our global region of island nations (compared to regions with shared borders and electrical interconnection) renewable hydrogen export is a promising option.

UNSW has been working with the Australian Government and the International Renewable Energy Agency to explore pathways to a hydrogen economy in the Pacific. This builds on previous UNSW research exploring the opportunity to export Australian renewable hydrogen to Germany, “HySupply: Shipping Australian Sunshine to Germany”. Further collaboration and deeper collaboration will allow this plan to become reality

Affiliates

Energy investment opportunities

  • Life Cycle Engineering of Energy Supply and Energy Technologies
  • Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Integration into Industry
  • Atmospheric Measurements of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Verifying Carbon Accounting and Mitigation
  • Energy Efficient Mobility Systems
  • Collaboration on Energy & Environmental Markets
  • System-level Energy Market Modelling
  • Energy Stakeholder Social Research
  • Demand side flexibility and distributed energy resources
  • Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Emissions Policy Mechanism Design
  • Integration of Large-scale Variable Renewable Energy into the Electricity Market
  • A Just Energy Transition
  • Regulatory Strategy and Governance
  • Advanced Control Methods for High-Performing Electric Machines and Drives 
  • City Futures Research Centre 
  • Global Climate Governance and Community Resilience for Clean Energy Transition 
  • Development of Building Codes and Standards
  • Governance for sustainable mobility
  • Energy Asset Valuation
  • Energy governance and local capacities
  • Data-Driven Integrative Intelligent Systems