• A Charles Sturt University research team is exploring the important role of community microgrids and their environmental, social and economic benefits
• Microgrid business models, ownership structure, and project financing are still in the development stage and are not well understood, and these are active areas of research
• The research team’s projects have the potential to positively impact people living in regional, rural, and remote Australia

A Charles Sturt University team is researching the deployment of microgrid projects that aim to meet the energy needs of regional communities in Australia.

Senior Lecturer in the Charles Sturt School of Business Dr Alfred Wong leads members of the research team from the School of Business and the Charles Sturt Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment. They include Emeritus Professor Kevin Parton and Senior Lecturer Dr Mark Frost in the School of Business, and Dr Simon Wright (Senior Research Fellow, Energy and Circularity) in the Gulbali Institute.

The team’s research explores a range of topics relating to microgrid business models, ownership structure and project financing.

Dr Wong said although the technological foundations for microgrids operations are sound, the economics and business considerations are still not well understood.

“Microgrids have a bias towards renewable energy that provides environmental benefits,” he said.

“While this is important, there are other direct and indirect benefits that rural, regional and remote communities receive, such as energy security, lower costs, local employment benefits and community benefits, such as improved health outcomes.

“These holistic benefits need to be considered when microgrids are being developed. The potential range of impacts is enormous, from energy and cost savings for a single vineyard to renewable energy providing sustainable power for a whole community, to microgrids enabling Indigenous communities to sustain their way of life on homelands.”

The research team (pictured left) are striving to shape the energy sustainability agenda through research publications and collaboration with industry partners.

Its projects on regional microgrids aligns with Charles Surt University’s institutional sustainability objective and also resonates with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals of Affordable and Clean Energy and Climate Action.

The lack of research on the economic benefits of microgrids led the team to seek collaborative work with industry partners in regional and rural communities.

The team completed a study on the feasibility of the Cowra Microgrid project proposed by Clean Cowra Ltd in the North Industrial Precinct in Cowra, NSW. The study received funding support under the Regional and Remote Community Resilience Fund – Microgrids and was facilitated and supported by CLEAN Core Development Pty Ltd.

The study’s report, ‘Regional Microgrids: The Missing Jigsaw Piece in the Australian Power Distribution Puzzle’ (2023), underscores the critical role of federal and state governments in advancing renewables programs through grants and subsidies to support development costs of microgrids.

While microgrids can provide enormous benefits to society, their high capital cost presents a significant challenge for deployment in regional communities.

Through the research work, the team advocates for government policies that will enhance the affordability and sustainability of future energy needs in regional communities. To this end, the pivotal role of government in providing funding support should receive greater emphasis.

The team’s earlier research, led by Dr Wright, was published in Sustainability (2022), ‘Australian Renewable-Energy Microgrids: A Humble Past, a Turbulent Present, a Propitious Future’, highlights the important role of community microgrids and the associated benefits, including environmental, social and economic rewards that ensure the continuity of these projects.

More recently, the team conducted semi-structured interviews with a range of key stakeholders across regional and remote Australia to identify challenges confronting microgrid projects. Dr Wright, who is the lead author of the paper, noted the paper reporting on this research is currently under review.

“My colleagues and I are guided by the Charles Sturt University Sustainability Statement,” Dr Wong said.

“Our recent and on-going research projects have the potential to positively impact people living in regional, rural, and remote Australian communities.”