The CRC RACE for 2030 Pathways to Net Zero Precincts (NZP) project has been awarded to Curtin University for a three-year period and includes several PhD scholarships.

The project’s overarching research question is: How do we integrate appropriate design, technologies and governance models to enable net zero to work effectively in different urban fabrics? To address this fundamental question, the NZP project will address three key research gaps namely: the identification of NZP certification pathways, NZP distributed energy resources and grid integration pathways, and NZP governance pathways.

This PhD scholarship focusses on the policy and practice of how to integrate Distributed Energy Resources (DER) with the grid, where DER also includes Consumer Energy Resources (CER)[1]. The core of the research project is a set of commercial and residential precinct case studies at different stages of development, and at different scales, both in Western Australia (SWIS) and the East Coast (NEMS) regulatory environments.

The high-level research questions this Ph.D. will address are:

• What are system performance challenges (and barriers) for DER/CER and grid integration that emerge across the different scales of NZPs?
• What are system performance opportunities (and benefits) for DER/CER and grid integration that emerge across the different scales of NZPs?
• Is there a framework that can be developed and applied to enable more successful uptake of DER/CER across the different scales?
• What is the right CER/DER model for the precinct development scale and in the context of real-world project delivery and subsequent operation?
• How can these findings be transferred to practitioners who are involved in the delivery and operation of Net Zero Precincts?

Answering these research questions requires an appreciation of technology possibilities and limitations, the effect of the regulatory environment, the economics of the solution (current and future), the needed governance and certification practice, and an understanding of what motivates (or inhibits) practitioners who deliver and operate precincts to adopt net zero principles.

The candidate does not require specific qualifications in these areas but should have enough background to develop the needed understanding of the areas to progress the research.  Specific experience in related net zero practice will be highly valued.

As case studies are central to this research, the candidate must possess good interviewing skills with the ability to understand both presenting issues and uncovering deeper, possibly underlying, issues. Case studies may also generate quantitative data pertaining to generation, storage and billing, which may need to be analysed.

[1]Consumer energy resources (CER) are consumers’ resources that generate or store electricity and includes flexible loads that can alter demand in response to external signals. CER includes:

• rooftop solar
• batteries
• electric vehicle chargers
• controlled loads such as water heaters and air conditioners
• smart systems that integrate these into the grid

Distributed energy resources (DER) is sometimes used to describe CER, but also includes larger assets such as community batteries installed in the distribution network.

• Current Students
• Future Students

• Faculty of Business and Law
• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Science & Engineering
  • Science courses
  • Engineering courses
  • Western Australian School of Mines (WASM)

• Higher Degree by Research

• Australian Citizen
• Australian Permanent Resident
• New Zealand Citizen

• Merit Based

$38,000 p.a. for three years (tax exempt). The RACE for 2030 CRC will also supply up to $3,000 p.a. for expenses per candidate for items such as a computer, publishing fees, travel or conference costs. 

1

Any applicable HDR courses.

• Full time enrolment
• Australian Citizen
• Experience in policy and practice related to net zero development in the area of net zero CER/DER and grid integration, or related areas.

Candidates to contact Project Manager Associate Professor Nasrin Aghamohammadi via nasrin@curtin.edu.au with a cover letter, CV including research experience, publication outputs and referees, plus academic transcripts.

Recipients must complete their milestone 1 within 6 month of enrolment and remain enrolled on a full-time basis for the duration of the scholarship.

Associate Professor Nasrin Aghamohammadi

Project Manager

nasrin@curtin.edu.au

Funded by the RACE for 2030 Cooperative Research Centre.

Further information can be found at: https://racefor2030.com.au/project/net-zero-precincts and in the supporting attachment.