August 2022 - Graham Barclay: The Price of Power
Speakers
Graham Barclay has degrees in engineering from Sydney University and the University of New South Wales. He has worked in the power industry all his life and has had senior roles in the technical and commercial aspects of the engineering, pronouncement and construction of central and remote power plants, the planning, funding and development of large central and smaller remote power systems and the design, manufacture and installation of plant and equipment.
The National Electricity Market (NEM) is struggling to cope with the arrival of large numbers of disparate, relatively unreliable, privately owned, renewable sources of generation which progressively replace a small number of large, technically proven (albeit CO2 emitting) and reliable sources of generation which still underpin the majority of the market's need for energy. Costs of electricity have risen dramatically and more fluctuations can be expected. Public debate is loud and polarised on whether, for example, Australia has a plan, whether the country is moving too quickly or too slowly and whether soaring electricity costs are caused by the rush to renewables or are the result of other factors. Our political leaders are responsible for dictating the pace and direction of the changes involved but receive advice from a mix of competent firms and institutions as well as vested interests, climate change activists and journalists, most of whom have a poor understanding of the subject.
The presentation will try to provide clarity on some of these vexed questions and looks at the implications of integrating disparate, widely-spread sources of power and the outlook for electricity prices and costs as renewables begin to dominate the power generation landscape.