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

• Watt equity? Australians deserve a Basic Energy Right
  This essay was first published in Australian Quarterly 95.3, Australia’s Longest running public affairs magazine, published by Australian Institute for Polic and Science https://aips.net.au/aq-magazine/current-edition/ Within the energy industry there is a popular, feel-good refrain that the energy transition will deliver a system that is ‘democratised’, in addition to being ‘decarbonised’, ‘digitised’, and ‘decentralised’. Here democratised… Continue reading →
• Bean nuclei
  There once was a bean farmer called P. For years, he’d supplied his local shops and cafes with tasty black beans. But then along came a new farmer whose green beans were much cheaper, and what’s more didn’t make people fart. Everyone in town was excited to switch to these new cheap fart-free green beans…. Continue reading →
• Ignore variability, overestimate hydrogen production – Quantifying the effects of electrolyzer efficiency curves on hydrogen production from renewable energy sources
  In this new paper with Dan Virah-Sawmy and Fiona J Beck we show that neglecting the variable electrolyzer efficiency, as is commonly done in studies of green hydrogen, leads to significant overestimation of hydrogen production in the range of 5–24% https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319924020676 Abstract This study investigates the impact of including (or neglecting) the variable efficiency of… Continue reading →
• SwitchedOn podcast on Energy Equity
  Delighted to be on RenewEconomy & Boundless Earth SwitchedOn podcast kicking off a discussion of how to *truly* improve energy equity https://reneweconomy.com.au/switchedon-podcast-free-electricity-to-cover-essential-needs/ “A popular refrain of the renewable energy transition is it will deliver an energy system that is more democratic, as well as decarbonised. That the political power of generating energy will shift from… Continue reading →
• EnergiZines: 43 personal interpretations of the energy transition
  Last year I had the pleasure of working with the creative team of Engaged ANU (The Australian National University), Brad Riley and the inspiring Tristan Schultz on a pretty out there engagement that we called “EnergiZine – Nurturing Energy Transitions”. We’ve just uploaded the Zines created in these workshops for all to read and be… Continue reading →