About this Abstract |
Meeting |
2020 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
Symposium
|
Aluminum Reduction Technology
|
Presentation Title |
The Australian Energy Crisis: Its Impact on Domestic Aluminium Smelting and Potential Solutions |
Author(s) |
David Sydney Wong, Alton T. Tabereaux, Mark Dorreen |
On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
David Sydney Wong |
Abstract Scope |
Australia is facing an ongoing energy crisis, driven by a combination of reducing ‘base-load’ power generation (aging coal-fired stations shutting down), policy uncertainty and hence lack of investment in new base-load capacity, and the rapid uptake of variable wind and solar generation that has yet to be fully buffered by energy storage. The resulting national grid is susceptible to unexpected shocks (reduced energy output from wind/solar, extreme weather, failure in grid interconnectors) and high spot-pricing. Unsurprisingly, Australia’s aluminium smelters are facing immense challenges operating in this environment, with potline outages occurring multiple times in two smelters over the past 3 years. This article examines some of the impacts and explores some of the pathways and opportunities that smelters can use to survive, including power modulation and the provision of ‘demand-side’ response services to the national energy grid. |
Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: Light Metals |