Energy market reform and low-carbon policy, and the new Energy Transition Research Hub

Crawford School of Public Policy

Event details

Crawford Research Seminar

Date & time

Friday 25 August 2017
12.00pm–1.00pm

Venue

Acton Theatre, Level 1, JG Crawford Building 132, Lennox Crosssing, ANU

Speaker

Professor Frank Jotzo, Crawford School, ANU.

Contacts

Ben Hillman

Australia’s electricity sector is on the cusp of major change which poses new questions for energy market design, regulation and policy. Ageing coal power plants will need to be replaced. Rapid technological change together with the desire to cut carbon dioxide emissions make renewable power coupled with energy storage the dominant option for new power supply. At the same time, new technologies provide opportunities for decentralised power generation and flexible demand responses. But the regulatory and policy sphere is lagging behind. The National Electricity Market was designed for a centralised system with prices determined by large fossil fuel plants, there is no coherent policy framework to guide and support the transition from old coal plants to new generation and storage investments, and the regulatory framework struggles to facilitate cost-effective decentralized power generation. The Finkel Review of the National Electricity Market provided answers to the question of reliability of the grid but much remains open on the longer term questions.

This means there are opportunities for applied research with impact that spans the economics, policy/regulatory and engineering aspects of energy sector reform in Australia. Such research can draw on empirical experience and analysis in other countries. Crawford School will co-lead (with the University of Melbourne and German partners) the recently announced Australian-German Energy Transition Research Hub. The Hub will involve colleagues and projects at several ANU Colleges. Professor Frank Jotzo will give an overview of plans for the Hub.

Frank Jotzo is a Professor at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, where he directs the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy. He is also Crawford School’s Research Director. As an environmental economist, his research focuses on policy relevant aspects of climate change, energy, and broader issues of environment, development and economic reform.

The Crawford School Research Seminar (CSRS) is a forum for scholars from across Crawford School of Public Policy to share their research and receive input from faculty and doctoral candidates on works-in-progress.

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