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The objectives of the Australian national electricity market are that it should be competitive, offer customers a choice of generators and retailers, and provide open access to the interconnected transmission and distribution network. It should not present barriers to entry, more or less favorable treatment of new entrants, bias towards a particular energy source or favoritism towards, or impediments to, intra- as opposed to inter-state trade. The core objective of the market rules, set out in the National Electricity Law and regulations and the Code, is to provide a light-handed and market-oriented regime of regulation that in turn allows the market to achieve its objectives. This article discusses the governance of the market, network planning and regulation, spot and contract markets, and supply reliability and security. To properly function the market relies on a deep and active contract market alongside the spot market and a close and dynamic relationship between spot and contract prices.     

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After nearly a century, synchronous machines are still the backbone of power generation and continue to evolve by exploiting improved process, materials, and technologies. This paper discusses the state of the art in generator technologies with particular reference to air cooling, and hydrogen cooling. Multidiscipline engineering challenges are also discussed including EM design, cooling design, and mechanical design. Progress in insulation technology, magnetic materials, and operation and maintenance trends are also outlined.     

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Electric power quality disturbances can have significant economic consequences for many different types of facilities. A wide variety of solution technologies exist for mitigating the consequences of such disturbances, and a methodology for performing a comparative economic analysis is featured in this article. Different technologies are evaluated by estimating the improved performance that can be expected after the technology has been applied. The power quality cost savings are calculated for each technology along with the costs of applying the technology. The net benefits, expressed in terms of annual costs, are shown as a means of comparing the various technologies.     

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The economic benefits of energy storage and their impact on electric power brokering are examined. Estimated costs for energy storage technologies are given and discussed. One way to integrate storage technologies into utility systems to exploit their potential, i.e. by letting a storage plant serve as the hub of a utility, is explored. Ways to minimize financial risk are considered.<>     

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Flicker is a power quality problem that affects our daily lives. In this paper, the authors describe how voltage fluctuations may originate in the power system, but most frequently they are generated by the equipment or load connected to it, for example, arc furnaces, welders, etc.     

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A major barrier to the deployment of wind energy in many regions of the world is a lack of reliable and detailed wind resource data. Availability of this data is essential for government and industry to identify wind power generation potential and to act on that knowledge. To overcome this barrier, The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed new methods to more accurately assess the wind resource and produce detailed high-resolution (1 km/sup 2/) wind maps for essentially anywhere in the world. These advancements were made possible by a combination of factors, such as the release of global climatic and terrain data sets that were not previously available along with the availability of advanced tools, including geographic information systems (GIS) software and computational modeling techniques. The NREL methodology for creating regional wind resource maps integrates the global terrain and climatic data sets, GIS technology, and analytical and computational modeling techniques. As a result, updated wind assessments can now be produced with much greater accuracy and detail than was previously possible.     

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The developing market for thin-film photovoltaics and R&D are discussed. An overview is given of thin-film modules that have already been developed for niche markets and high-value applications and technology that will be available soon. A number of silicon cells are described as well as some made of other materials, mainly copper indium diselenide and cadmium sulfide. Use of thin-film cells by utilities is examined.<>     

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For a specific susceptibility of end-user equipment, the impact of disturbances can be mitigated by design modifications of circuit layout, grounding system design, overvoltage protection, filters, use of steel conduit, use of additional transformers, etc. The effectiveness of these design options on power quality can be analyzed with specialized analysis software. These analysis methods should be able to model systems with three phase wires, four wires (three phase and a neutral/or ground wire), five wires (three phase wires, a neutral wire, and a ground wire), single and double phase circuits, grounding and bonding points, grounding systems, etc. This article presents a method with these capabilities. An additional feature of the method is that the power system component models are physically based, i.e., the model retains the physical construction of the component as opposed to being represented with an abstract mathematical equivalent. A physically based model and analysis procedure provides the means to expose the interrelationship between the physical parameters (i.e., grounding system design, size of neutral, etc.) and power quality. Typical results are presented in this article. In addition, the model is utilized for a statistical assessment of the effects of specific designs on power quality.     

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Issues in North America have their roots in restructuring, regulations, and the retention of reliability. Immense change is underway that will have significant influence on the way electric systems are planned and operated. Key challenges will be to develop proper planning and operating standards and execute them in a manner that will assure the continued reliability of the power supply system at its historic levels. The major events that resulted in the status of these issues is briefly discussed as is the emerging utility structure.     

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The competitive electric power market of the state of California (USA) began operation on 31 March 1998 with the California Independent System Operator (California ISO) and the now bankrupt Power Exchange (PX) as the main operationally independent market facilitators. The market took off smoothly, and the prices were seemingly just and reasonable until May 2000, when the first signs of market crisis emerged. This marked the beginning of the California power crisis that continued until about May 2001. During that period, California was confronted with an unprecedented electricity crisis that threatened to undermine the reliability of its electricity system, weaken its economy, and impact energy markets throughout the western part of the United States.     

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The author identifies the lack of an industrial strategy for economic growth on the part of both the US government and the private sector to reverse the erosion of the US share of the world market. He examines the consequences of this lack and presents arguments in favor of such a policy. He notes some useful actions that have been taken and suggests that they provide a framework for structuring a policy.<>