UWA is on track to become the first university in Western Australia – and one of a handful of universities nationally – to achieve renewable energy offsets for 100 per cent of its electricity requirements from the grid.
The announcement comes after the University signed an agreement that will see its expected electricity supply from the grid offset entirely from renewables by 2025.
The shift to renewables is part of UWA’s commitment to achieving energy neutrality by 2025. It’s also part of the Energy Smart Campus initiative, which uses the University’s campus as a ‘living laboratory’, in which everyone is invited to have a stake in the energy future of the campus, from reducing consumption to developing emerging technologies.
Led by the University’s Campus Management team, the initiative brings together teaching, research and expertise from professional sectors around a central premise: the campus.
Impressive insights
The University’s powerful energy reporting platform, developed by former UWA data scientist Dr Jason Hamer (PhD ’16), provides real-time information on the electrical consumption of buildings, electrical generation from solar photovoltaics and information on the central thermal energy system (for air conditioning).
Dr Hamer explains the platform has a sophisticated deep-learning forecast model that can predict the campus energy load at 30-minute intervals one day in advance – with an accuracy of 96 per cent.
“This deep-learning model is constantly adjusting to account for data glitches and anomalies, such as the COVID-19 lockdowns,” Dr Hamer said.
“It enables the University to make operational decisions ahead of time, and could eventually be used to automate some processes, creating a self-operating and self-learning campus.”
Where will UWA’s electricity come from?
UWA has entered into an agreement with Synergy to invest in the supply of renewable electricity from the Warradarge in WA’s Mid West town of Eneabba. By 2025, all of UWA’s expected electricity needs from the grid will be offset by electricity produced from renewable sources, principally the Warradarge Wind Farm.
Image by Bright Energy Investments
The University’s visionary approach to energy procurement hasn’t only considered the traditional objective of ‘value for money’. It’s also delivering on other strategic objectives such as energy neutrality (and by extension, carbon neutrality), and the creation of teaching and research opportunities and partnerships.
Buying green is just the start
While the University can achieve its goal of energy neutrality through the purchase of off-site renewable energy or carbon offsets, the real opportunity to ensure long-term energy supply and cost independence lies within the campus footprint and adopting ‘behind-the-meter’ interventions (meaning the University draws less electricity from the grid).
The Crawley campus is serviced by various energy networks comprising generation, distribution and storage of electrical, chemical (natural gas) and thermal energy (chilled water for air conditioning).
The interaction between these forms of energy (for example, conversion of electrical to thermal energy at the Central Energy Plant), and the availability of energy storage enables the University to effectively manage its energy profile.
UWA’s Principal Engineer Stuart Downes said the campus’ highly interconnected ‘ringed’ distribution network offered greater flexibility and resilience in the operation of its energy systems.
“From the very start, the Crawley campus was built on sound engineering principles with efficiency, reliability and flexibility at the forefront of its planning and design,” Mr Downes said.
“We have an opportunity to capitalise on this foundation and consider additional principles, such as neutrality, innovation and connectivity.”
Wide-ranging impact
When it comes to building an Energy Smart Campus, UWA’s Energy and Sustainability Manager Dr Geraldine Tan (BCom, BE '97, PhD '05) emphasised the importance of integrating the University’s campus operations with its core pillars of teaching, research and engagement.
“There is an opportunity to use the campus as a testbed which, if done collaboratively, can benefit operations as well as enhance the teaching and research offerings of the University,” Dr Tan said.
"The University already has a range of exciting research projects that can be applied on campus, from the introduction of electric vehicle fast charging stations, to growing battery industries in Australia and finding better ways to heat and cool buildings."Dr Geraldine Tan, UWA’s Energy and Sustainability Manager
One of the benefits for students, staff and visitors is the ability to charge electric cars on campus.
Professor Thomas Bräunl from the School of Engineering is leading the Renewable Energy Vehicle Project (REV). The project team recently installed a dual Siemens SICHARGE D 160kW electric vehicle (EV) fast charging unit at the EZONE UWA Student Hub. The new unit can charge an electric vehicle more than three times faster than the existing DC charger at UWA’s University Club.
The REV team, together with transport planning expert Associate Professor Doina Olaru, is studying consumer response to changes in EV charging tariffs, especially the introduction of time-of-use energy tariffs, which reflect the University’s own structure and the State electricity grid’s energy generation profile.
Professor Thomas Bräunl and engineering students with UWA's electric autonomous shuttle bus
“We know the two biggest barriers to electric vehicle ownership are cost and lack of adequate charging infrastructure,” Associate Professor Olaru said.
“By making electric vehicle charging cheaper during the middle of the day – in the same way that standard electricity use often is – we can study the trade-offs that electric vehicle owners (and aspiring owners) make between purchasing and running costs.”
Other projects within the School of Engineering aim to harness research and industry expertise to enable the growth of battery industries within Australia; examine the decentralisation of the electricity grid using rooftop solar photovoltaics, electric vehicles, and electric heat pump water heaters to manage household energy loads; and explore alternative options for heating and cooling homes in Perth’s unique environment.
Across the University, staff and students are coming together to collaborate on sustainability initiatives. Sustainability and microgrid expert Adjunct Professor Bill Grace (BE ‘78) has contributed to energy modelling and renewable energy procurement for UWA’s Energy Smart Campus. More than 300 staff have taken part in the Green Impact program, improving the environmental performance of their workspaces through initiatives such as energy saving campaigns and adopting endangered animals. Meanwhile, students have signed up to be Green Impact assistants and auditors and undertook McCusker Centre for Citizenship internships to work on sustainability and carbon neutral projects, and 70 staff and students rode to campus to celebrate Ride to Work Day in October.
While there’s no shortage of expertise or passion among the University community, the Energy Smart Campus also extends to collaboration with external partners, including the University’s energy retailers and network providers.
When it comes to choosing suitable partners for UWA’s Energy Smart Campus the number one priority, according to Dr Tan, is ensuring that partners share the University’s vision of energy neutrality, and are open to exploring innovative energy and carbon solutions.
A powerful commitment
In 2019, the University released its Strategic Plan 2020-25, in which it committed to creating a more clean, green and sustainable campus and becoming energy neutral by 2025. Fast forward two years, and that ambition is likely to be achieved.
Campus Management Director Trevor Humphreys says the Energy Smart Campus – enabled through collaboration between professional and academic staff – is an important step towards UWA achieving its carbon neutral goals and addressing climate action.