Author Archives → bjorns

The clean energy revolution isn’t a techno-fix – it needs to be guided by communities’ local needs

New piece in The Conversation

Context is everything

Under the previous federal government, Australia’s approach to emissions reduction was narrow and technology-centred.

The new Labor government – elected on the promise of climate action – has the opportunity to move to a community-based approach. This should ensure any new infrastructure integrates with people’s lives, values, and aspirations.

Such an approach requires proponents and funding bodies (both government and private) to genuinely listen to communities’ needs – right from the early design stage.

If local circumstances are not considered, a trial can be plagued with problems.

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Providing electric vehicle charging at ANU

As life continues to return to the ANU campus we’re finally able to announce that we’re providing free electric vehicle charging – powered by the DERlab.

Vice Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said: “I see this as the first small step, or a precursor to having charging available more broadly on campus. I envision a set of EV parking spots will be rolled out across campus in the years to come so people can plug in and charge their EV while the sun is shining and the energy is cheap, rather than, like me, going home when the sun has set and plugging in.

“Here at ANU we are a community of 20,000 people, we have the opportunity to lead the way, implement our own knowledge and show the world how to do it. We will have to make some sacrifices to get ANU Below Zero by 2030 but our community is right behind it,” said Professor Schmidt.

Full story @ BSGIP website

Neighbourhood batteries in Australia: Anticipating questions of value conflict and (in)justice

We have a new paper published today in Energy Research & Social Science.

Highlights

  • Energy professionals and citizens hold diverse values on algorithm design, governance and the energy transition generally.
  • Differences in how values are interpreted and which values are emphasised suggest future points of conflict (and injustice).
  • Systemic issues raised both down and upstream of the technology suggest distributed responsability ill suited to centralised governance.
  • Our focus on responsibility and justice reorients the problem to re-design rather than accommodation.

Pre-print is freely available below and the published paper is available at https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1ely67tZ6ZxQoB

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Examining the vehicle-to-grid niche in Australia through the lens of a trial project

We have a new paper in the journal Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions.

Highlights

  • Vehicle-to-grid is viewed as a sub-niche of electric vehicles and distributed energy.
  • Vehicle-to-grid is in an embryonic stage of development in Australia.
  • Proponents hold strong long-term visions, but are unsure how to get there.
  • Learning has focused on problem solving; other types of learning are lacking.
  • More experimentation, involvement of new actors and embedding are required.
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Amy is off to the printers

Moments ago I signed off on the final production proofs of my children’s book about the energy transition: Amy’s Balancing Act!

It’s been a huge journey getting to this point and I’m equal parts excited and relieved. To help share the excitement, here’s a sneak peek at the cover.

The editing and illustration process has taken a little longer than I’d planned, but I’m absolutely delighted at how much better the story’s become through the process. The team at Little Steps Publishing have done a great job and endured a major number of final minor edits… As for the illustrations, well it’s difficult to capture my enthusiasm as it’d be wrong to use expletives around a kids book, but they are freaking amazing!

A huge thanks to everyone who contributed to the kickstarter campaign that made this dream possible. For those that missed that, you can now pre-order a limited edition signed copy from bjornsturmberg.com/shop

For more about the book and the latest updates on the kickstarter page.

EV chargers for V2G and V2H to arrive in Australia within weeks

From James Purtill in the ABC

A new kind of charger that allows an electric vehicle (EV) to be used as a giant home battery is close to going on sale in Australia, with the first commercial shipment to arrive within weeks.

Unlike standard one-way EV chargers, bidirectional chargers can also discharge energy from an EV, which means they can be used to power a home (known as vehicle-to-home or V2H) and its appliances, or to export energy to the grid (vehicle-to-grid or V2G).

This may sound simple, but bringing them to Australia has proven difficult.

For years, a mix of regulatory and engineering hurdles have repeatedly pushed back the technology’s rollout date.

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