Wright, S.; Frost, M.; Wong, A.; Parton, K.A. Australian Renewable-Energy Microgrids: A Humble Past, a Turbulent Present, a Propitious Future. Sustainability2022, 14, 2585.
Wright, S.; Frost, M.; Wong, A.; Parton, K.A. Australian Renewable-Energy Microgrids: A Humble Past, a Turbulent Present, a Propitious Future. Sustainability 2022, 14, 2585.
Wright, S.; Frost, M.; Wong, A.; Parton, K.A. Australian Renewable-Energy Microgrids: A Humble Past, a Turbulent Present, a Propitious Future. Sustainability2022, 14, 2585.
Wright, S.; Frost, M.; Wong, A.; Parton, K.A. Australian Renewable-Energy Microgrids: A Humble Past, a Turbulent Present, a Propitious Future. Sustainability 2022, 14, 2585.
Abstract
AAs the global energy market undergoes a wholesale transformation accelerated by the need to decarbonise, a rapid transition to renewable energy and the mass deployment of distributed energy resources, autonomous energy networks or microgrids are emerging as an attractive mechanism for the delivery of electricity to end users. Yet in Australia, at least, relatively little is known about key aspects of microgrids that are fundamental to their successful deployment, not least the more commercial and economic elements rather than the purely technical. Drawing on the extant global literature on microgrids, this paper explores the most important of these aspects including business models, ownership and investment. Identifying the ambiguity, inconsistency and uncertainty evident in many of the feasibility studies currently in train across Australia, this paper highlights specific areas for future research that need to be addressed if the full potential of microgrids is to be realised in the context of a global energy transition both domestically and internationally.
Keywords
microgrids; Australia; ownership; business models; value streams; community; energy efficiency.
Subject
Business, Economics and Management, Business and Management
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
