ENEG28001 Australian Engineering Practice Report 2 Sample

ENEG28001 Australian Engineering Practice

Assignment Brief

In this task, for the engineering project listed below, you as an engineering student should access relevant scientific and engineering databases and search engines and collect at least TEN good- quality journal articles, conference papers, news articles and/or technical reports on the specified activity topic. You will prepare and submit an individual annotated bibliography along with a critique of your findings. You will also showcase your ability to use a package such as ENDNOTE to manage your bibliography.

Procedure

1. Select ONE case/problem from your discipline from the list provided in this document.

2. First, develop a plan to find the required solution to the problem you have selected. You should develop a mind map to identify the various aspects of the problem you may have to investigate.

3. Using the various scientific databases (Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, ProQuest, PubMed, Springer link, etc) and the Internet, conduct a literature search on your selected aspect/topic.

4. Collect at least ten good journal articles on your topic.

5. Read your collection and summarise what your literature research conveys about your topic.

6. Write a critique on the findings of your literature search and share it with your team members.

Structure

ABSTRACT

The abstract should contain

• A problem statement.
• Aim of this review.
• A brief search strategy.
• Outcomes.
• It follows 5-6 appropriate keywords.

1. INTRODUCTION

2. AIM OF THE REVIEW

The key goal of the literature review is to understand the existing research and find a gap between existing research and your research. You should articulate your LITERATURE REVIEW AIM based on these criteria. The aims should be clear and appropriate to your selected topic.

3. THE ASPECT OF THE MIND MAP

4. SEARCH STRATEGIES

5. SYNTHESIS FROM LITERATURE

6. CONCLUDING REMARKS

7. REFERENCE LIST

Note that both in-text and reference lists should follow the Harvard reference style. It is highly recommended that you use EndNote software for referencing.

Solution

1.Introduction

1.1 Problem Statements

Australia's energy sector is highly dependent on traditional energy sources like fossil fuels. Evidence suggests that, Australia has accumulated 70% of their electricity only from coal and gas in 2021 (Bowyer, 2022). As per IEA (2022), ageing coal- fired power plants and lack of investment on renewable energy infrastructure increased the energy crisis significantly. Simshauser (2023) mentioned in the research about four factors influencing energy consumption such as increasing price costs, Russian invasion in Ukraine, coal outages and weather deterioration. Evidence suggests that coal generation and solar generation has declined to 10,000 Gwh in 2022 from 12,000 Gwh in 2021 and 13,000 Gwh in 2017 while solar generation decreased to 2100 Gwh in 2022 from 4000 Gwh in 2019 (IEA, 2022). Alongside that, invasion of Ukraine also decreased supply stock by 11.9% in 2023 that increased the price of oil and gas (Bowyer, 2022). These are the causes that triggered the energy crisis in Australia and influenced economic growth massively.

Figure 1: Average NEM spot prices by declining demand of black coal and gas
(Source: Bowyer, 2022)

1.2 Significance of the Problem

Studying Australia's energy crisis is significant because it brings a lot of concern to Australia's energy security. However, dependency on finite sources like fossil fuel may expose Australia to massive supply disruptions, price volatility and geopolitical risks (Carabott and Wallington, 2022). Apart from that, the energy crisis displays major concern about reliability of the electric grid especially during peak demand periods. In spite of that, lack of investment on renewable energy infrastructure may contribute towards supply shortages that are influencing business significantly. Additionally, an increasing energy crisis also raises the cost of electricity, which increases the budget by 5 times higher in Australia. That is why addressing the energy crisis should be identical to improving economic scarcity.

1.3 Research theories/ hypothesis

H1: Increasing investment in renewable energy infrastructure in Australia will lead to a reduction in GHG emissions and a declining energy crisis.

H2: Implementing policies and strategies of renewable energy will enhance energy resilience to mitigate Australia's energy crisis.

1.4 Research gap

One research gap identified regarding Australia's energy crisis is lack of comprehensive analysis related to socio-economic impact of transitioning to renewable energy sources. Research of Bowyer (2022), majorly focused on global energy crisis than Australia and also focus on Ukrainian invasion more than electricity price increase. Bridging this gap, this study underpins three broad aspects in this research starting from causes of crisis, specifically the key point like shortfall of coal, wind and solar production. Alongside that, this study exhibits the energy affordability and equity by focusing on present alternatives like use of public transport and sustainable initiatives for MBA assignment expert.

2. Aim of the literature review

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the scenario of Australia's energy sector and analyse the impact and explore present alternatives to address the energy crisis.

Objectives:

● To analyse the cause and impact of the energy crisis in Australia on business.

● To explore alternatives that Australia should consider to address energy challenges

3. Mind map

4. Search Strategies

Conducting this literature review, this study has considered several secondary sources starting from journals, books and other internet sources. Hannam (2022) highlighted the importance of taking online search engines to improve reliability rather than drawing conclusions from individuals. As this study explored different alternatives of fossil fuel and impact of energy crisis, Google scholar had considered taking journals with having DOI. Alongside that, this study has collected the data from other few sources such as ProQuest, SagePub Elsevier, Emerald and ScienceDirect that provides reliable data regarding the topic. However, few of the other internet sources like websites of Australia's energy sector, IEEFA and others. While collecting the data, this study has followed a search strategy like Inclusion and Exclusion criteria such as considering only updated data in between 2017-2024 to remain updated. Apart from that, journal's only containing English language have been preferred in this research.

5. Synthesis from Literature

5.1 Synthesis of literature

Australia's energy crisis requires a shift to renewable energy solutions to address a range of issues including climate change, population growth and fire safety electricity. As per the views of Selvey et al. (2022), this year Australia's electricity supply has reached its worst level since the oil crisis of the 1970s. Edis (2022) opined that the energy crisis on Australia's east coast has been going on for more than a decade and is affecting the oil and gas industry. As per the views of Simshauser (2023) The Gillard government has approved a $70 billion plan with Origin Energy, Santos and Shell Energy to build LPG infrastructure and create 11,000 construction jobs. In the electricity market, solar and wind power plants drive down electricity prices, often dropping prices to zero in the middle of the day when demand is high, Australia can build a sustainable future. As per the views of Flottmann (2024), there are some ideas as well to mitigate the energy consumption cost. All this means that gas generators are filling the gap, but they are priced out of their production at the top as fuel prices rise. Despite that, bad weather affected the coal industry and some railways were flooded, causing coal shortages. Rooftop solar energy production is also affected due to dark clouds.

5.2 Discussion and Analysis

Considering the monthly production levels by oil type, it has been evident that coal production has decreased. Figure 1 compares coal production for each month from 2017 through 2022. Since electricity demand is seasonal and affected by weather conditions. Australia black coal mining has fallen in the year of 2022 in comparison to in the year of 2019 and 2017.Overall, we can see a steady monthly change in coal production over the years (Figure 1). However, every month of 2022 except January will see a decrease in coal production compared to 2021. From February to May this year, coal production was approximately 1,000 GWh less per month on average compared to 2021. Electricity demand in January 2022 is higher than in 2021, so electricity production in January 2022 should be higher than in 2021, not lower, all else being equal. Wong et al. (2020) researched that, one of the reasons for the decline in electricity production is that wind and solar energy will be higher in 2022 than in 2021, contrary to what the oil industry says. However, the other explanation is that power plants are damaged more by the earthquake. Coal export volumes have grown at an average annual rate of 2.5 per cent from 302 Mt in 2011–12 to 363 Mt in 2020–21; however, in 2021–22 Australian coal production was constrained, and exports decreased during the year (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Statistics of Coal generation monthly in Australia
(Source: Edis, 2022)

Considering Figure 4, there is moderate misalignment in the combined wind and solar energy in 2022 compared to 2021. The worst thing is that electricity production in May 2022, unlike the growth in other months of the year, increased by 103 GWh compared to 2021, from 471 GWh to 868 GWh compared to the same month in 2021 (Hannam, 2022). As per IEA (2022), renewable energy business accounted for 35.9%. By 2022, Australia's entire electricity production will be met by an increase of 32.5% in 2021. This is slightly more than double the capacity installed before the project expansion began in 2017 (16.9%). Although this figure decreases by 3.3 GW by 2021, it also represents the highest efficiency from renewable energy. An estimated 3.4 million Australian homes have solar photo-voltaic roofs, accounting for nearly a third of families (Figure 4). The total number of new solar installations decreased from 377,408 to 310,352 in 2021. Rooftop solar power accounts for 25.8% of Australia's renewable energy production up from 24.9% in 2021 (Simshauser, 2023). Wind energy ranks second with a new capacity of 1.4 GW, up from 1.7 GW in 2021. Total renewable energy accounts for 35.6% of total electricity generation Renewable energy production accounts for 12.8% of Australia's total energy trend (Flottmann, 2024).

Figure 4: Renewable energy generation in Australia
(Source: Edis, 2022)

Factors mentioned above influencing Australian energy sector massively. Referring to figure 5 shows that inflation has caused a major crisis for the economy. Research done by the Farghali et al. (2023) has found that energy costs account for the majority of the economy's total cost-driven business, strengthening some small and medium-sized businesses. As per Bekar (2020) Australia's natural gas supply is decreasing due to lack of production but Australia show limited negligence with oil production but there are fuel delivery problems. Apart from that, Australia currently faces a situation where fossil fuels are being sold to the international market and energy producers are being forced to buy them back at sky-high prices (Ramesh, 2023). AER said predetermined market prices for small business (SME) electricity customers in New South Wales would rise by between 10% and 19.7%, with prices for SME customers at the bottom, while areas in Queensland would rise by 12.8 per cent (Figure 5). The show showed New South Wales customers would pay an average of $690 to $1,146 more per year, while customers in south-east Queensland and South Australia would see an increase of $705 and $459 respectively (Simshauser, 2023).

Figure 5: Australia's Energy Price Crisis are Impacting Businesses
(Source: Simshauser, 2023)

On the other hand, few of the ways that Australia can explore to address energy crisis adequately. Firstly, decreasing the temperature by 1°C can save 7% on heating energy, thus saving an average of $50-70 on your electricity bill each year. As per IEA (2022), use a thermometer to measure the temperature up to 15°C while sleeping and up to 10°C when no one is home, Increase the total temperature by 1°C and save up to 10%. However, replacing the old light with a new LED light and keep the light you need. Alongside that, using more public transport can also reduce energy consumption, congestion and pollution. Alongside that, improve your driving style to reduce fuel consumption by slowing down by 10 m/h on the road saves around $60 per year in fuel costs at driving at 50-90 m/h also saves fuel.

5.3 Critique on the Findings

Considering the findings, few of the outcomes challenged in terms of credibility, validity and reliability. A study conducted by Hannam (2022) access Economics estimated that the energy cost burden on Australian businesses amounted to $10.3 billion in 2020, representing a substantial drain on profitability, while some small electricity and gas tanks failed. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), electricity prices increased by an average of 56% between 2007-08 and 2018-19. This study has identified that, data mentioned above is bit hypothetical and complex to understand. Overall, findings shows broad and diverse perspective on energy crisis that must be narrow down to ensure the research objectives.

6. Conclusion

6.1 Summarise key findings

After covering broad areas of the energy crisis in Australia it can be said that several factors influence the energy affordability in Australia. It can be Russian invasion in Ukraine, coal outages, and weather disruptions. These are the issues threatening Australia's energy security as the country failed to ensure reliable and consistent supply of energy. Apart from that, energy shortage is affecting the economy of Australia where pricing has increased and also declining the production rate as well. Rising prices of electricity, household items not limits the choices people but also spread in increasing environmental concern. A mind map has been presented by mentioning alternatives like biomass, solar and geothermal energy consumption that may help Australia to get back on the track. Alongside that, a diverse literature has been received that suggests energy crisis arises due to shortage of production in solar wind that can be minimised through utilising alternatives mentioned above.

6.2 Research Gaps

Considering the findings, this study has covered large areas and diverse ranges of secondary sources. In spite of that, this study has failed to cover policy uncertainty as major issues of energy crisis are not explored well. Alongside that, lack of budget does not allow this research to access paid journals that restricted the research on alternatives up- to biomass and geothermal. These two areas could have created opportunities for future researchers to start from here and take it as a secondary source to develop objectives.

6.4 Recommendations

To address the energy crisis, Australia should bring policy support by targeting renewable energy, introduction of incentives and carbon pricing. Adhering these initiatives, nations can unlock new opportunities and drive continued progress in the energy sector. Alongside that, collaboration between Australian government and other industries may accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy source for Australia.

7. References List

Bowyer, J. (2022). IEEFA: Power bills in Australia take a hit from surging global fossil fuel prices. [online] ieefa.org. Available at: https://ieefa.org/resources/ieefa-power-bills-australia-take-hit-surging-global-fossil-fuel-prices [Accessed 11 Apr. 2024].

Carabott, M. and Wallington, B. (2022). Australia’s Energy Crisis and what businesses need to do to survive. [online] Leading Edge Energy. Available at: https://www.leadingedgeenergy.com.au/blog/australias-energy-crisis-and-what-businesses-need-to-do-to-survive/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2024].

Edis, T. (2022). What is the real cause of Australia’s energy crisis – and what should we do? [online] ieefa.org. Available at: https://ieefa.org/resources/what-real-cause-australias-energy-crisis-and-what-should-we-do [Accessed 11 Apr. 2024].

Farghali, M., Osman, A.I., Mohamed, I.M., Chen, Z., Chen, L., Ihara, I., Yap, P.S. and Rooney, D.W., 2023. Strategies to save energy in the context of the energy crisis: a review. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 21(4), pp.2003-2039.

Flottmann, J., 2024. Australian energy policy decisions in the wake of the 2022 energy crisis. Economic Analysis and Policy, 81, pp.238-248.

Hannam, P. (2022). Australia’s energy crisis explained: from price caps to the suspension of electricity trading. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/15/australias-energy-crisis-explained-from-price-caps-to-the-suspension-of-electricity-trading#:~:text=There%20are%20four%20factors%20contributing%20to%20the%20%E2%80%9Cperfect%20

storm%E2%80%9D%20facing [Accessed 11 Apr. 2024].

IEA (2022). Global Energy Crisis. [online] International Energy Agency. Available at: https://www.iea.org/topics/global-energy-crisis [Accessed 11 Apr. 2024].
Ramesh, K., 2023. Lessons from the energy crisis of an energy exporter. The APPEA Journal, 63(2), pp.S129-S133.

Selvey, L.A., Carpenter, M., Lazarou, M. and Cullerton, K., 2022. Communicating about Energy Policy in a Resource-Rich Jurisdiction during the Climate Crisis: Lessons from the People of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(8), p.4635.

Simshauser, P., 2023. The 2022 energy crisis: Fuel poverty and the impact of policy interventions in Australia's National Electricity Market. Energy Economics, 121, p.106660.

Simshauser, P., 2023. The 2022 Energy Crisis: horizontal and vertical impacts of policy interventions in Australia’s National Electricity Market.
Wong, D.S., Matthews, G., Tabereaux, A.T., Buckley, T. and Dorreen, M.M., 2020. The australian energy crisis, its impact on domestic aluminium smelting and potential solutions. In Light Metals 2020 (pp. 791-802). Springer International Publishing.