Electricity

My initiatives and engagements in the electricity sector fall broadly into the following categories.

The DERlab

I have led the design and construction of a $4m power systems testing lab at the ANU. The lab is designed and operated for a wide range of users across industry and R&D.

Please get in touch if you wish to know more and make use of this world class facility! See https://der-lab.net.au/ for details.

This project is a joint initiative of the ANU, ITP Renewables, UNSW Canberra, and evoenergy. It is funded by the ACT Government.

All DERlab posts are here.

Policy

I make regular contributions to the (sadly troubled) Australian energy policy discourse.

All Policy posts here.

Microgrids

I’m a leader of an interdisciplinary team working to bolster the resilience of our electricity supply through the use of microgrid technologies to create a “grid of microgrids”.

All Microgrids posts are here.

Community batteries

I’m part of an interdisciplinary team at the ANU working on the potential for medium scale battery storage, aka Community batteries.

All Community battery posts are here.

Solar for rentals

I founded a social enterprise called SunTenants that makes solar work for rental properties. This was acquired by Solar Analytics in 2019.

All Solar for rentals posts are here.

Solar for apartments

I lead the first deployment of solar + storage into an Australian apartment building in 2015-16, at a housing co-operative in Sydney called Stucco.

All Solar for apartments posts are here.

Latest posts

  • Vehicle-to-grid response to a frequency contingency in a national grid
    A paper published in npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport analysing the vehicle-to-grid response to a major grid disturbance in the Australian grid. Abstract Vehicle-to-grid technology enables electric vehicles to contribute their large, high-power batteries to power systems reserves. Here we report the first demonstration of a fleet of vehicles discharging to support system security after… Continue reading →
  • Exploring microgirds in the Australian contex
    Intuitively it makes sense that microgrids are a good idea. There are many of us that want that to be the case and for good reason. They have the potential to bolster local resilience, increase utilisation of renewable energy sources and give a sense of autonomy back to communities. One of BSGIP’s most substantial pieces… Continue reading →
  • Presentation: Watt price equity?
    IMHO, the energy system has 2 goals:• Efficiency – minimizing total economic & ecological costs• Equity – human wellbeing, individually and collectively The (Nobel prize earning) Tinbergen rule stipulates that each of these goals requires its own policy instrument. Relying on 1 market price – to efficiently manage EV charging without inequitable punishing parents for… Continue reading →
  • Discussion with the ACT Chief Minister
    I had the pleasure of discussing all things energy transition with the ACT Chief Minister late last year in my role as ACT Emerging Scientist of the Year. His description below… https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrewbarrmla_dr-bjorn-sturmberg-has-been-awarded-the-2024-activity-7274676995525894145-duD4 “Dr Bjorn Sturmberg has been awarded the 2024 ACT Emerging Scientist of the Year Award for his work on clean energy technology. The… Continue reading →
  • Publication of electric bus & depot model
    RouteZero, our tool for simulating the energy consumption of electricbuses on any given bus route and the grid impacts of charging them at a bus depot has been published in a Nature Portfolio special issue https://www.nature.com/articles/s44333-024-00008-2.epdf The tool is now also availble opensource in its entirity https://github.com/bsgip/RouteZero/ While the easy to use web version remains… Continue reading →