Past Events
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
EESA Site Visit - Olex.
This event was a great success for all involved. Sold out with 20 participants, attendees inspected the LV and HV lines and testing procedures. Participants were also involved in a training session covering voltage drop calcs, loss assessment, earthing systems, why do we use earth cables, Direct and cross linking, cable selection, why do we use a particular cable, Condition monitoring.
Site Visit
Alcoa Site Visit
One Day Seminar
Protection, Control, SCADA and Communication Seminar
Evening Seminars
Solar Concentrator Photovoltaic Systems for Grid Scale Power (Held in Traralgon in the Gippsland region)
The CitiPower Experience Meeting the Challenges of the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Nuclear Generated Power. An International Resurgence - Why Not in Australia? Held in both Melbourne and Hobart
The EastLink Project: Project Overview and Construction Update
Conference
2006 EESA Conference
Risk and counter terrorism for critical Infrastructure & Technical security operations for the electrical market
MELBOURNE - Wednesday 2 November 2005Guest Speakers:
Norm Currie, Principal Consultant, OPTEC (Ex ASIO, Federal Police)
Presentation Focus
Companies focus on security and risk management, in light of terrorism
Legislative responses developed by Federal, state and Local Governments.
Compliance for all asset owners
Discussion on the three critical elements of risk /security management, incorporating:Russell Lewis, Consultant, OPTEC
- A through investigation of identified hazards
- Effective identification of vulnerabilities applying to a location
- The Risk management plan
Presentation Focus
NEMCO Security data system and control centre security.
Steps taken by NEMCO market security
Technical security of communication and data
Alternative power supplies
Power System operations, frequency voltage and control
System blackout and recovery
The Developing Shortage of Electrical Power Engineers
MELBOURNE & HOBART
October 2005
Guest Speakers:
Electrical Power Engineering Manpower Requirements in Australia: Professor Vic Gosbell – Wollongong University Power Quality Centre
The Realities of Producing Electrical Power Engineers: Dr David Sweeting – Sweeting Consulting Pty Ltd
API The Australian Power Institute: Bryce Corderoy – API
Australia’s electricity supply is currently under threat from a looming shortage of qualified electrical power engineers according to a report released at the 80th Conference of the Electric Energy Society of Australia (EESA) at the Novotel Brighton Beach, Brighton-Le-Sands in Sydney on 13th August 2004.
The report, "Assessing the Future of Electrical Power Engineering", is a report on the electrical power engineering manpower requirements in Australia for the future. It is a result of a study on the supply and demand for electrical power engineers by the EESA in conjunction with Engineers Australia and the Energy Supply Association of Australia.
This seminar brought to Melbourne and Hobart three speakers on this topic from the EESA Annual Conference and allowed delegates to develop an understanding of the developing position and the potential responses.
Future Energy Challenge - Young Australian Team Triumphs Over the World’s Best
Presented by the Monash University Future Energy Challenge Student Team
| On 15th September, IEEE Power Engineering Society Chapter, with support from the EESA VICTAS Chapter, staged an evening seminar on the success of a local team of Engineering students in the 2005 Future Energy Challenge. This was a global competition, where student groups from arouind the world took up the challenge of designing and building highly efficient power electronic converters for use in conjunction with the electric power grid. One of the competing groups was from Monash University in Melbourne, and this group took out first prize in the category "Utility Interactive Inverter Systems for Small Distributed Generation". |  |
Details:
The field of electric power is intimately tied in with power conversion technologies ranging from watts to hundreds of Megawatts. In 2004, the IEEE launched a worldwide competition for young engineers, primarily targeted at engineering students, where the goal was to develop either a variable speed motor drive, or a utility interactive 1 kW DC-AC inverter, capable of converting power from a renewable energy source (eg solar) into AC suitable for direct connection back into the utility grid.
A team of undergraduate engineers from Monash University have taken on the rest of the world in this competition. In August this year, the Monash team took their inverter to Denver, USA and returned victorious, having taken out first place, competing against 14 other university teams from around the globe.
By way of background, the 2005 International Future Energy Challenge was organised by the IEEE Power Electronics Society for participation by student engineering teams. The 2005 competition addressed two broad topic areas: (A) Single-Phase Adjustable Speed Motor Drives and (B) Utility Interactive Inverter Systems for Small Distributed Generation.
In March 2004, the Monash University Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering began by assembling a team, under the guidance of Associate Professor Grahame Holmes, to participate in topic (B), competing against 14 other international Universities, with the aim of promoting innovation in the field of distributed electricity generation systems.
The objective of the topic titled “Utility Interactive Inverter System for Small Distributed Generation” was to improve and foster innovation in the design of flexible utility interactive inverter systems for small distributed generation. The inverter had to be efficient and comply with requirements for harmonic control, interconnection, and safety standards. The inverter was required to be capable of operating in typical voltage and frequency ranges in grid-connected or stand-alone modes. Target hardware costs were US$200 for an inverter that could operate from a dc input voltage varying from 30 volts to 60 volts, under constrained input power varying from 250W to 1000W, to a single-phase utility line 110/240V either 50Hz/60Hz, with an efficiency of at least 90%.
The Monash University team consisted of 10 final year undergraduate engineering students with an interest in power electronics, guided by Associate Professor Holmes - as the director of the Monash Power Electronics Group, he is actively involved in practical applications in this area of industry.
During the past 18 months, the students have been working energetically on the design, simulation and construction of their inverter prototype, as well as organising and managing the team, gaining publicity and seeking sponsorship.
During May 2005, the Monash team was announced as one of seven finalists invited to Denver, Colorado, USA to present their prototype inverter on the 15th of August 2005.
The entire team of 10 was sponsored by the University and companies from Australia’s engineering industry to travel to Colorado to present their prototype. The combination of successful testing of their inverter, technical report and presentation gave the Monash University team the “1st Place” and “Most Outstanding Teamwork” awards. The team also collected US$11,000 in prize money to be shared between Monash University and the team.
The team will be sharing their experiences on developing a product from specification to prototype, on working as a team, on project management and on the valuable contributions made by industry and academics. They will also be discussing their development process, technical details and innovative breakthroughs of their award winning inverter. Finally, the team will conclude by talking about their personal experiences at the competition finals, about other entrants’ inverter designs, and about the factors that made the Monash University team, and their inverter design, the best in the world.
More information can be found at their web site: http://fec.eng.monash.edu.au/.
EESA has recognised this achievement with the presentation of an Engineering Excellence Award for The Monash University Student 2005 International Future Energy Challenge Team for their innovation in the design of a
“Utility Interactive Inverter System for Small Distributed Generation”
and in recognition of their achievement of “1st Place” and “ Most Outstanding Teamwork” awards in Denver, Colorado, USA 2005
Embedded Generation Seminar
Thursday, 1 September 2005
 Colin Frost with guest speaker Megan Wheatley
| The 'Embedded Generation' one day seminar, held in Melbourne on the 1st of September 2005 provided delegates with a good background to the principles of embedded generation and an overview of the issues associated with connecting a generator to an electricity supply network. The seminar covered technical issues such as wind, solar and wave, connection issues and regulatory issues and ensure that you are aware of the latest developments, while also providing a valuable opportunity to network with practitioners in the embedded generation industry and people who influence the interface issues with networks. The seminar offered delegates up-to-date information and practical know-how to enable you to participate in the industry and to understand the regulatory requirements. Presenters at this seminar included:
Thank-you to all evolved in this very successful event, especially the vent sponsor Power Quality Solutions. |
Wednesday, 31 August 2005 |  Kate Summers and Margarida Pimentel |
Technical Seminar
Wave Power - From Dream to Reality
Organised by: IEEE Power Engineering Society (Victorian Section) in collaboration with the EESA.
Ray Alcorn and Tom Engelsman, Energetech Australia
Electric power from the sea has long been thought of as a major untapped source of energy, as scientists and engineers have studied ways of navigating through energy shortages and greenhouse gas issues. There is clearly a great deal of concern, both at the policy level as well as with the general populace, in regard to the overall environmental conditions, and specifically ways to mitigate further possible damage. The focus on the overall impact of greenhouse gases has focused much of the debate on alternate forms of energy, given that the overall continued increase in economic trade, linked with the developing populations, has created an almost insatiable demand for energy.
Many of the alternative energy technologies that have been developed have all suffered from the fact that small capacity concepts, with little possibility of long term scalability, do not show any economic benefit, and are considered little more than interesting ideas. The major exception to this has be en the wind energy industry, where the Danish Government has basically funded the formation of an entire business model. However, the fact that the wind energy level is somewhat unpredictable has also created a series of questions, There has long been a very deep seated interest in the development of a “wave” based energy flow, since the energy of the sea is so clearly seen as possibly the only energy source that could meet the huge global demand. As such, the sea, both in terms of wave and well as tidal energy, has been the focus of more recent efforts. This energy source, although large and predictable, also suffers from many technical issues, some of which are:
- Extreme versus design conditions
- Corrosion
- Distance to consumer
- Financial returns
Energetech has developed a practical wave energy power generator (and built a first operating unit) using a set of patents which address all of the above, in a manner that shows the use of wave power to now be a viable (and commercially efficient) means of generating electrical power. The current Port Kembla unit, linked to the 11kV Integral grid, will demonstrate all of the above items, as well as allow for the company to further enhance the overall efficiency of the design. In addition to this “power” based model, the company has found that the overall turbine design and operating parameters make this an ideal desalination process where salt sea water can be processed into potable.
This seminar addressed the issues discussed here, and the presenters detailed the practical implementation of the technology.
The Presenters:
- Dr. Raymond Alcorn: Head of Electrical Engineering
Ray Alcorn has been involved in many aspects of wave energy for over 8 years, having obtained a PhD from Queens University Belfast on the topic of electrical control of wave-power plants. He has experience on several wave power devices worldwide, including projects emanating from Greece, Portugal, and several devices past and present in Scotland. His background in Electrical Engineering has given him expertise in the areas of control, simulation, instrumentation, embedded software, process control, electrical machines and power electronics, as well as practical experience in design and commissioning of medium scale electrical control panels. Raymond moved from the Wave Power Research Group at Queens University Belfast to Energetech in mid October 2002. - Tom Engelsman: Chief Executive Officer
Tom Engelsman is an Engineer with a very impressive corporate management background, having most recently held the position of the Chief Operating Officer for Paperlinx/Australian Paper. Tom has had the opportunity to work in Europe, the US, South America and Australia during his career and has worked in and around the energy sector for over 20 years.
During this time, he has run small as well as large public companies, and has been deeply involved in the overall funding of many ventures. Tom has an engineering degree (aeronautical) from RMIT, and he is also a Sloan Fellow from the MIT/Sloan School of Management in Boston. He brings to Energetech a very strong commercial and engineering perspective, and a sense of focus when it comes to working with the majors in the energy industry, both in Australia as well as internationally.
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24th May 2005
Presenter: Peter Barnes,
Manager- ABB Automation Technology,
System Product Management Group,
ABB Australia P/L
Industrial IT Extended Automation Systems can extend the reach of the traditional automation systems beyond control of the process to achieve the productivity gains necessary to succeed in today’s business markets.
For the first time, this scope is accessible from a single user interface that is configured to present information and provide interaction in a context appropriate to all user disciplines. Extended Automation objects created within the ABB system “800xA” engineering environment provide a foundation for the efficient development, deployment, reuse, and continuous improvement of production and safety applications with predictability unattainable from other automation solutions. Built on the Industrial IT Aspect ObjectTM technology platform and industry specific expertise, ABB’s automation portfolio provides the seamless link between process, safety, and business management to deliver knowledge-based solutions.
With System 800xA, users are provided with the solutions and technology needed to achieve sustainable competitive advantages which leads to smarter and better plant performance at substantial cost savings.
This Seminar was proudly sponsored by ABB Australia Pty Limited
Inquiries can be made to Mr Peter Barnes. peter.barnes@au.abb.com
 | From right to left: Colin Frost thanks Peter Barnes, Michael Vandertuin and Martin Dagnall from ABB for an excellent presentation and for sponsoring the evening. |
August Seminar
Speaker Bill Plews presented "Life in a Regulated Network: A UK Perspective"
| Burning up the Albert Park Grand Prix track late at night is not the kind of activity one would expect to find an MBE to be indulging in. However, after delivering a plenary session at the National Conference of the Electric Energy Society of Australia and feasting on the culinary delights Melbourne has to offer, Bill Plews, a retired Strategy and Regulation Manager with Yorkshire Electricity Board, spent his final hours in Australia in this manner. On Wednesday 14th of August, 2004, EESA invited Mr. Plews to deliver a seminar called 'Life in a Regulated Network: A UK Perspective'. The seminar treated the issue of competition within the UK Electricity Supply Industry. He discussed how the industry regulator, Ofgem, has built up competition in the privatised UK industry and how it regulates and optimises the balance between the needs and wants of electrical monopolies and customers. |  |
Bill Plews has enjoyed a distinguished career at the Yorkshire Electricity Board, holding positions such as Engineering Manager, System Engineering Manager, System Strategy Manager and Strategy and Regulation Manager. He is an expert in his field, and his achievements were honoured in 2000 when he was appointed an MBE. Hopefully he shall bring his expertise and race car driving skills back to Melbourne soon!
Basslink – The Electrical Engineering – 7th July 2004.
Speakers:
- Mr Ian McLelland – Basslink HVDC Project Overview and Cable Technology
Ian is Project Advisor for the Basslink project. A member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers and a Chartered Engineer. Ian has been involved with Basslink since February 2000 when NGT, the world's largest independent transmission company, won the tender to build the 300km interconnector. Ian has worked for NGT in India, Pakistan, South America and the Middle East.
- Mr Bruce Robb – Basslink HVDC Link and Converter Station Technology
Bruce was born in 1944, received his Diploma in Electrical Engineering at the RMIT, Melbourne in 1964. In 1965 he joined Siemans as a cadet engineer and spent 3 years in Germany undergoing special training. He pretend to Melbourne in late 1969 where he worked in the field of materials handling. He moved into the Energy sector in 1982, working on the 4 x 500 Loy Yang A Power Station then transferring in the late 80s to the Power Distribution Department as Manager until this was merged with the HV business in 1996 to form a consolidated Power Transmission and Distribution business unit under his leadership as General Manager. He has been involved with the Basslink Project since 1999.
- Mr Robert Dey & Mr Arthur Tunnicliffe – Basslink System Protection Scheme
Bob is CPEng with over 30 years experience in the Electrical Utilities business in the areas of maintenance and testing, project management, project development and business development in Protection Systems, EMS, DMS and Substation Automation in Australia and overseas. He is presently Director of Sales and Marketing with Open Systems International.
Arthur is a CEng with over 40 years experience in the Electrical Power Industry. He has managed both Distribution and Transmission businesses and has an extensive background in power system protection. He is presently Principal Consultant with Open Systems International.
EESA VICTAS April 2004 Seminar - Wind Energy
The evening was chaired by Miss Angela Canterford - Student Member of EESA.
The April Seminar was proudly supported by RMIT University with presentations by the following people:
- Mr David Hastings - "Wind Energy - An Independent Power Producers perspective".
Pacific Hydro is an independent power producer operating in the Australian Wind Energy Industry.
This presentation covered the management of the full cycle of wind farm development from prospecting, planning approvals, technology selection, financing, construction and operations. - Mr Stephen Loft - "Challenges for Integrating Distributed Renewable Energy into Electrical Networks"
Econnect are a leading engineering consultancy in the field of renewable and distributed generation techniques. The presentation covered the development of techniques and practices for reliable solutions for the connection of distributed generation. - Mr Achim Hoehne - "Risks of Wind Farm Projects"
PB Power have extensive experience in the International and Australian Wind Energy Industry. The presentation covered the risks involved with wind farm projects and the Consulting Engineers role in managing due diligence for the investment Banker.
The presentations were followed by the opportunity to Network with engineers, associates and students with refreshments kindly provided by the EESA VIC/TAS Chapter.
 | From left to right: Mr Achim Hoehne, Mr David Hastings, Mr Colin Frost - Chairman EESA VICTAS, Miss Angela Canterford - EESA Mr Stephen Loft |
March 2004 Technical Seminar
The March Technical Seminar was held on Thursday, 18 March and was proudly sponsored by ABB Australia Pty Ltd and hosted by Monash University.
The evening was jointly run by EESA Victorian Chapter and IEEE Power Engineering Society Chapter Victorian Section.
Approximately 90 people attended an excellent seminar titled 'Power System Operation Utilising Alternative IT Solutions'.
After the formal presentations all attendees were invited for refreshments kindly sponsored by ABB. Professional Engineers from the Energy Industry and Students from Monash University had an excellent opportunity to network and learn more about the Electricity Supply Industry.
The following presentations were delivered at this seminar.
- Mr Chris Laukens - Impact of Ethernet LAN's within Substations
Chris Laukens is ABB Australia's Sales Manager for the Utility Automation group, a position he has held since 1996. He has over a decade of experience in the domain of Substation Automation, from its early inception to where a new international standard IEC61850 is emerging. He is a Member of CIGRE Australian Panels B5 Protection and Substation Automation and D2 Information Systems and Telecommunications. - Mr James Khare - Operational Excellence with Asset Optimization
James Khare is Accounts Manager for Automation Systems for ABB Power & Automation technologies Divisions. He has worked in various functions for 12 years with Elsag Bailey (now ABB group) and 7 years with ABB. He has travelled to 29 countries and lived in 7. Major part of his experience has been promoting controls systems for variety of Power plants. - Mr James Mullen - At a higher level, real-time enterprise solutions
James Mullen is Business Unit Manager for ABB Australia's Automation Technologies Division and has worked in 3 different countries over 22 years service with ABB. - Mr Peter Wong - Experiences of Substation Automation
Peter Wong is the Protection & Planning Manager for Alinta, an asset management company with assets under management including United Energy Electricity Distribution, Multinet Gas Distribution and Alinta Gas (in WA).
EESA VICTAS Chapter extends a thank you to ABB Australia Pty Ltd for supporting this event.
Site Visit to Newport Power StationEESA VICTAS' first event for 2004 was a site visit to Newport Power Station, held on Wednesday, 18 February 2004. It was encouraging to see a good representation from all Engineering disciplines and especially from our Young Engineers. The tour covered all aspects of the plant associated with the generator, turbine, boiler, water systems and electricity transformation and connection to the 220kV network. A highlight of the tour was an insight into the minute by minute energy trading activity for participation in the National Electricity Market. Coupled with a view of the City from the top of the boiler house this was a great event. |  |
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