Lithium ion batteries and PHES are the two most common forms of grid connected energy storage.  Along with those two, describe the characteristics of three other energy storage technologies.  What roles do they play, and why have there been shifts in the most common technologies for various tasks within the grid?

Download the embedded energy and payback period spreadsheet.

In this simple assessment, we didn't consider the embodied energy in the inverter, cables and racking required to complete the installation.  Let's assume that the inverter, racks and cables require an additional (per panel):

• 5kg of copper (90MJ/kg)
• 10kg of steel (20MJ/kg)
• 2kg of plastics (70MJ/kg)

i) What is the total embodied energy per panel now? (3 marks)

ii) What is the new payback period (in months)? (1 marks)

Now increase the efficiency of the panels to be 23%

iii) What is the updated payback period (in months)? (3 marks)

iv) In each case, are the rooftop panels still a good idea? (3 marks)

Australia has a complex mix of Federally based energy related policy, starting with the renewable energy target which was first enacted in 2001.

There are three other main policies (as discussed in the week 10 lecture) that are currently or about to come into effect.  As well as the RET, describe each of the policies in terms of which sectors they address and how they operate.

(2.5 marks per policy)

Download the world energy stats global electricity production file from the Moodle Exam folder ("ELEC by FUEL").  The data shows the global electricity production annually by fuel type, with a line graph for % solar.

i) In which year did solar energy first generate more than one percent of global electricity? (1 mark)

ii) The global population in 1985 was around 4.9 billion people, and was 8.1 billion in 2024.  How has the average per capita electricity consumption changed over this period? (2 marks)

iii) Add a line to the graph that shows the percentage of fossil (coal, gas, oil, other).  Ensure it is labelled correctly. Save the graph as an image file and upload it. (3 marks)

iv) In which year did total fossil generation hit a maximum % contribution over the period 1985-2023? (1 mark)

v) Comment briefly on the significant of the trends in fossil contributions to the total electricity supply. (3 marks)

The renewable energy target was the first climate policy introduced. What was the original target?

Which famous Australian is credited with designing Victoria's electric power system?

Not counting LULUCF, which sector has seen the biggest emission reductions since 2005?

Australia has committed to reduce emissions to 43% below 2005 levels by 2030. Which sector has been the main driver?

According to Rob Brimblecomb's slides, the PassivHaus design is very airtight and only exhibits an Air Change per Hour (ACH) of 1 (e.g. the air in the home is fully refreshed each hour) when subjected to a pressure of 50Pa.  Test results for the average well sealed home in Australia has an ACH at 50Pa of what? 

On which side of a building is it most important to avoid placing windows?