Author: Nina

GSP-SV-13: Pre-Harvest Food Waste: Identifying the Scope of the Issue and what Opportunities Exist to Reduce Environmental Impacts.

Nina COMPLETED

Industry partner: Sustainability Victoria (SV)

Sustainability Victoria’s (SV) statutory objective is to facilitate and promote environmental sustainability in the use of resources. Established under the Sustainability Victoria Act 2005, SV is a statutory authority with a board appointed by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change.

Under the National Food Waste Strategy, Victoria has a commitment to help half food waste by 2030. Despite the recent production of a national food waste baseline that maps food was across the supply chain, food waste from grain oils is excluded from this report. As such, it is presently unclear what the size of food waste from this sector is, which makes it difficult to understand its environmental impacts.

Food waste is a multifaceted issue that impacts climate change, water security, food security and the economy. Across the supply chain, food waste contributes almost the same emissions to global warming as road transport. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of emissions after China and the US. Presently, more food waste is sent to landfill than plastic and glass combined, costing Victorian councils over $21M each year. As Australia’s largest agricultural producer and food exporter, food waste in Victoria also represents a significant economic loss, as around 30% of food produced in Victoria’s $14.02 billion-dollar agricultural sector is wasted. As primary food production accounts for up to 70% of Australian water, minimizing food waste across the supply chain also represents a significant opportunity to increase water security and drought resilience in a changing climate. The importance of this cannot be underestimated; drought in 2003-04 reduced Australia’s agricultural output by 24%, costing Australia $3 billion and 70,000 jobs. CSIRO predicts increased quantity and severity of drought events in Victoria as a response to climate change; to feed its future population, Victoria cannot afford to waste water in its food systems. Finally, diverting edible food waste to communities in need will help support the 3.6 million Australians that experience food insecurity each year, providing both social and health benefits from increased access to food and nutrients.

To date, it is unknown what research has been conducted to explore food waste arisings from the grain-oils supply chain and no such data has been commissioned by SV. SV are presently investigating options to half food waste across the food supply chain and this research study will inform future interventions by SV in this space with the ultimate outcome of improving environmental outcomes.

Project aim:

The objective of the project is to identify the volumes and drivers of food waste arisings throughout the Victorian agricultural sector, specifically relating to pre-harvest losses. Any food ready for harvest that were not harvested, or were rejected from pack-house post picking, are not included in scope for this project.

This project aims to gain an understanding of the total quantities of food waste currently generated from pre-harvest losses in the agricultural sector to identify if future interventions are required and likely to improve environmental outcomes (i.e. reduced carbon emissions, improved water and food security).

  • Identify total quantities of food waste generated within from pre-harvest losses (animal and non-animal primary production)
  • Identify why pre-harvest food waste occurs (i.e. drought, prohibitive cost of production, famine, plague, natural disaster, weather, pre-harvest thinning etc.) and whether losses are avoidable (i.e. starvation – animals; plague – plants) or unavoidable (thinning to maximize output)
  • Identify what systems are currently in place, if any, to minimize waste losses
  • Identify cost of pre-harvest losses to provide an estimate of savings for potential waste avoidance/minimization interventions.
  • Provide proposed solutions to reduce pre-harvest food waste as identified in consultation with industry or desktop analysis, based on Victorian interventions or those from other jurisdictions (National/International).

Timeframe:

It is expected that the project would be completed at the end of Semester 1. However, extension of the project duration is negotiable.

Project deliverables:

The deliverables of the project are will be discussed on acceptance of the project, in consultation between SV and the RMIT student. A final report, executive summary and presentation to key SV employees will be required at the completion of the project. Interim deliverables will be discussed between SV and the RMIT student.

Student selection:

  • Key attributes include excellent written communication skills, self-directed and highly motivated, good research skills, organisational/planning prioritising/time management/ability to meet deadlines.
  • Honours and Masters students are preferred.

Applications (CV) should be sent to Nina Nguyen at nina.nguyen@rmit.edu.au

 

GSP-SV-12: Food Waste in the Animal Feed Supply Chain: Identifying the Scope of the Issue and what Opportunities Exist to Reduce Environmental Impacts.

Nina COMPLETED

Industry partner: Sustainability Victoria (SV)

Sustainability Victoria’s (SV) statutory objective is to facilitate and promote environmental sustainability in the use of resources. Established under the Sustainability Victoria Act 2005, SV is a statutory authority with a board appointed by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change.

Under the National Food Waste Strategy, Victoria has a commitment to help half food waste by 2030. Despite the recent production of a national food waste baseline that maps food was across the supply chain, food waste from grain oils is excluded from this report. As such, it is presently unclear what the size of food waste from this sector is, which makes it difficult to understand its environmental impacts.

Food waste is a multifaceted issue that impacts climate change, water security, food security and the economy. Across the supply chain, food waste contributes almost the same emissions to global warming as road transport. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of emissions after China and the US. Presently, more food waste is sent to landfill than plastic and glass combined, costing Victorian councils over $21M each year. As Australia’s largest agricultural producer and food exporter, food waste in Victoria also represents a significant economic loss, as around 30% of food produced in Victoria’s $14.02 billion-dollar agricultural sector is wasted. As primary food production accounts for up to 70% of Australian water, minimizing food waste across the supply chain also represents a significant opportunity to increase water security and drought resilience in a changing climate. The importance of this cannot be underestimated; drought in 2003-04 reduced Australia’s agricultural output by 24%, costing Australia $3 billion and 70,000 jobs. CSIRO predicts increased quantity and severity of drought events in Victoria as a response to climate change; to feed its future population, Victoria cannot afford to waste water in its food systems. Finally, diverting edible food waste to communities in need will help support the 3.6 million Australians that experience food insecurity each year, providing both social and health benefits from increased access to food and nutrients.

To date, it is unknown what research has been conducted to explore food waste arisings from the grain-oils supply chain and no such data has been commissioned by SV. SV are presently investigating options to half food waste across the food supply chain and this research study will inform future interventions by SV in this space with the ultimate outcome of improving environmental outcomes.

Project aim:

The objective of the project is to identify the volumes and drivers of food waste arisings throughout the Victorian animal feed supply chain, from primary production to animal consumption.

This project aims to gain an understanding of the total quantities of food waste currently generated within the animal feed sector to identify if future interventions are required and likely to improve environmental outcomes (i.e. reduced carbon emissions, improved water and food security). The study will address organics generated throughout the entire animal feed supply chain including primary production (from point of harvest, including crops left on field/dug-in, but excluding pre-harvest losses). transport and storage, secondary production (if relevant), consumption by animal, and any other identifiable categories within the supply chain.

  • Identify total quantities of food waste generated within the animal feed supply chain (including avoidable and unavoidable food waste, but excluding non-food products such as wheat stubs from harvesting wheat grain)
  • Identify why food waste occurs in each phase of the supply chain and what systems are currently in place, if any, to minimize waste losses
  • Identify cost of waste to each sector of the supply chain, as to provide an estimate of savings for potential waste avoidance/minimization interventions.
  • Provide proposed solutions to reduce food waste in the animal feed supply chain as identified in consultation with industry or desktop analysis, based on Victorian interventions or those from other jurisdictions National/International).
  • Quantify what percentage of the animal feed supply chain is contributed to from human-food waste, primarily arising from food manufacture and retail food diversion.

Timeframe:

It is expected that the project would be completed at the end of Semester 1. However, extension of the project duration is negotiable.

Project deliverables:

The deliverables of the project are will be discussed on acceptance of the project, in consultation between SV and the RMIT student. A final report, executive summary and presentation to key SV employees will be required at the completion of the project. Interim deliverables will be discussed between SV and the RMIT student.

Student selection:

  • Key attributes include excellent written communication skills, self-directed and highly motivated, good research skills, organisational/planning prioritising/time management/ability to meet deadlines.
  • Honours and Masters students are preferred.

Applications (CV) should be sent to Nina Nguyen at nina.nguyen@rmit.edu.au

 

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8525214@N06/40498167353/

GSP-SV-11: Food Waste in Grain Oil Production: Identifying the Scope of the Issue and what Opportunities Exist to Reduce Environmental Impacts.

Nina COMPLETED
GSP-SV-11: Food Waste in Grain Oil Production: Identifying the Scope of the Issue and what Opportunities Exist to Reduce Environmental Impacts.

Industry partner: Sustainability Victoria (SV)

Sustainability Victoria’s (SV) statutory objective is to facilitate and promote environmental sustainability in the use of resources. Established under the Sustainability Victoria Act 2005, SV is a statutory authority with a board appointed by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change.

Under the National Food Waste Strategy, Victoria has a commitment to help half food waste by 2030. Despite the recent production of a national food waste baseline that maps food was across the supply chain, food waste from grain oils is excluded from this report. As such, it is presently unclear what the size of food waste from this sector is, which makes it difficult to understand its environmental impacts.

Food waste is a multifaceted issue that impacts climate change, water security, food security and the economy. Across the supply chain, food waste contributes almost the same emissions to global warming as road transport. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of emissions after China and the US. Presently, more food waste is sent to landfill than plastic and glass combined, costing Victorian councils over $21M each year. As Australia’s largest agricultural producer and food exporter, food waste in Victoria also represents a significant economic loss, as around 30% of food produced in Victoria’s $14.02 billion-dollar agricultural sector is wasted. As primary food production accounts for up to 70% of Australian water, minimizing food waste across the supply chain also represents a significant opportunity to increase water security and drought resilience in a changing climate. The importance of this cannot be underestimated; drought in 2003-04 reduced Australia’s agricultural output by 24%, costing Australia $3 billion and 70,000 jobs. CSIRO predicts increased quantity and severity of drought events in Victoria as a response to climate change; to feed its future population, Victoria cannot afford to waste water in its food systems. Finally, diverting edible food waste to communities in need will help support the 3.6 million Australians that experience food insecurity each year, providing both social and health benefits from increased access to food and nutrients.

To date, it is unknown what research has been conducted to explore food waste arisings from the grain-oils supply chain and no such data has been commissioned by SV. SV are presently investigating options to half food waste across the food supply chain and this research study will inform future interventions by SV in this space with the ultimate outcome of improving environmental outcomes.

Project aim:

The objective of the project is to identify the volumes and drivers of food waste arisings throughout the Victorian grain-oil sector, from primary production to manufacture (i.e. oil extraction) and including storage and transport (pre- and post-manufacture).

This project aims to gain an understanding of the total quantities of food waste currently generated from the grain-oil supply chain to identify if future interventions are required and likely to improve environmental outcomes (i.e. reduced carbon emissions, improved water and food security).

  • Identify total quantities of food waste generated within in the grain-oil supply chain
  • Identify why food waste occurs in the grain-oil supply chain, at the respective levels within the supply chain (i.e. primary production, secondary production, storage, transport)
  • Identify what systems are currently in place, if any, to minimize waste losses
  • Identify cost of losses to provide an estimate of savings for potential waste avoidance/minimization interventions (targeted to level of supply chain).
  • Provide proposed solutions to reduce grain-oil food waste as identified in consultation with industry or via desktop analysis, based on Victorian interventions or those from other jurisdictions (National/International).

Timeframe:

It is expected that the project would be completed at the end of Semester 1. However, extension of the project duration is negotiable.

Project deliverables:

The deliverables of the project are will be discussed on acceptance of the project, in consultation between SV and the RMIT student. A final report, executive summary and presentation to key SV employees will be required at the completion of the project. Interim deliverables will be discussed between SV and the RMIT student.

Student selection:

  • Key attributes include excellent written communication skills, self-directed and highly motivated, good research skills, organisational/planning prioritising/time management/ability to meet deadlines.
  • Honours and Masters students are preferred.

Applications (CV) should be sent to Nina Nguyen at nina.nguyen@rmit.edu.au

 

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8525214@N06/40498167353/

Paid Internship_Renewable Energy Projects in Development, Construction and Operations

Nina COMPLETED
Paid Internship_Renewable Energy Projects in Development, Construction and Operations

Industry Partner: John Laing is an international originator, active investor and manager of infrastructure projects. Its business is focused on major transport, social and environmental infrastructure projects awarded under governmental public-private partnership (PPP) programmes, and renewable energy projects, across a range of international markets including the UK, Europe, Asia Pacific and North America. In Australia, John Laing has offices in Melbourne and Sydney. These offices are tasked with accessing a pipeline of projects with local partners. From these offices, regional market developments are tracked and projects developed.

The opportunity:

John Laing Australia is seeking an intern who will be working across utility scale renewable energy projects in development, construction and operations. As such there will be the opportunity to be involved in the following activities:

  • Technical due diligence on investment opportunities including reviewing Energy Yield Assessments, Technical Due Diligence reports, and project contracts.
  • Monitoring the progress of projects in construction, including visiting the project sites and reviewing the progress of EPC contractors.
  • Reviewing the performance of operational assets against base case financial models and working with the Asset Manager to identify opportunities to improve the performance and valuation of these assets.

The intern will enrol in Professional Engineering Experience (OENG1198) and work in the Melbourne office for a total of 12 weeks.

Student Selection:

  • All engineering Honours and Masters students with relevant background, experience and interest are encouraged to apply.
  • Send applications (CV, cover letter, recent academic transcript) to Nina Nguyen at: nina.nguyen@rmit.edu.au
  • Only short-listed candidates are contacted for an interview.
  • Final approval is made by John Laing.

 

 

 

GSP-Mandalay-06: Futuristic Smart Seat Design for Mining Trucks

Nina COMPLETED
GSP-Mandalay-06: Futuristic Smart Seat Design for Mining Trucks

Project title: Futuristic Smart Seat Design for Mining Trucks

Industry partner: Mandalay Resources operates a gold and antimony mine located in Costerfield, Central Victoria. The operation is spread across two sites. Augusta is the underground site and the processing plant is named Brunswick. The mine’s final product is a concentrate containing approximately 50% antimony and 80 grams per tonne gold. The concentrate is sent to China for processing where the antimony is ultimately used as a fire retardant in plastics and other synthetic materials. Historically antimony was mainly used as an alloying element in the production of munitions. There is currently a workforce of approximately 200 people engaged at the Costerfield mine site. An exploration team is currently working to secure the future of mining at Costerfield.

Project background and project aims:

This project is based on the fact that Mandalay Recourses—a 100%-owned Costerfield god-antimony mine in Victoria—received complaints from drivers concerning the discomfort and injuries while operating the mining equipment. When drivers sitting for a long time, the exposure to whole body vibration and unbalanced force may lead to some diseases such as sitting sores, lower back pain, lumbar spine injury etc.

 

Therefore, it is necessary to study the pressure distribution in the sitting position. The focus in this project has been to design and develop smart seat and mobile application for mining personnel during a long-term drive in trucks. This will be an effective tool for detecting and analysing the pressure centre of the body posture and to guide drivers to the correct posture, which can help to prevent disease due to unbalanced posture. The project will be divided into the following tasks:

  1. Develop conceptual design of smart seat that conform to ergonomics and to ensure thermal comfort of human body
  2. Identify and choose materials for the smart seat in terms of thermal and mechanical properties, viscoelastic characteristics, etc
  3. Identify and develop function module design for data acquisition
  4. Design and develop data receiving and processing module
  5. Design and develop data acquisition and analysis module
  6. Implement and test the smart seat system

Equipment:

  1. Pressure sensors and digital circuit to collect data
  2. Consumables, materials, and seat mechanisms (fabrics, foam, 3D printing, etc)

 

 

GSP-Mandalay-05: Evaluation of Real-time Whole-Body Vibration and Seat Pressure Distribution while Driving Mining Equipment

Nina COMPLETED
GSP-Mandalay-05: Evaluation of Real-time Whole-Body Vibration and Seat Pressure Distribution while Driving Mining Equipment

Project title:

Evaluation of Real-time Whole-Body Vibration and Seat Pressure Distribution while Driving Mining Equipment

Industry partner: Mandalay Resources operates a gold and antimony mine located in Costerfield, Central Victoria. The operation is spread across two sites. Augusta is the underground site and the processing plant is named Brunswick. The mine’s final product is a concentrate containing approximately 50% antimony and 80 grams per tonne gold. The concentrate is sent to China for processing where the antimony is ultimately used as a fire retardant in plastics and other synthetic materials. Historically antimony was mainly used as an alloying element in the production of munitions. There is currently a workforce of approximately 200 people engaged at the Costerfield mine site. An exploration team is currently working to secure the future of mining at Costerfield.

Project background and project aims:

This project is based on the fact that Mandalay Recourses—a 100%-owned Costerfield god-antimony mine in Victoria—received complaints from drivers concerning the discomfort and injuries while operating the mining equipment. Most complaints are related to the discomfort seat, confined space in the driver’s cabin, and injuries due to whole body vibration.

This project aims to develop and implement real-time measurements of whole-body vibration and seat pressure distribution during a long-term handling of mining equipment, especially driving in trucks. The project will be divided into the following tasks:

  1. Determine a test procedure that simultaneously measure whole body vibration and seat pressure distribution according to standards and recommendations
  2. Identify the methods to analyse the measured data
  3. Identify the user-experiences and the sources of discomfort, fatigue and/or injury during a long-term drive
  4. Determine a correlation and causal relation between measured data with user-experience

The data will be used to provide recommendations on how to design a driver’s cabin and to optimal seat constructions that could reduce the exposure of whole body vibration and other negative effects on the users health.

Equipment:

  1. Measurement and analysis system according to the ISO standards 2631:1-1997 (datalogger, accelerometers, sensors)
  2. Pressure mapping system (datalogger, pressure-sensing mats, piezo resistive sensors)
  3. Video (to document driver’s postures and to support the understanding of test results)

 

 

GSP-SV-10: Unlocking Innovative Finance – Finance Option Fact Sheets

Nina COMPLETED
GSP-SV-10: Unlocking Innovative Finance – Finance Option Fact Sheets

Industry partner: Sustainability Victoria (SV)

Sustainability Victoria (SV) supports Victorians to be more sustainable in their everyday life; in their homes, jobs, schools and communities and in the systems and infrastructure that support a thriving Victorian economy and lifestyle. Sustainability Victoria aims to improve the way Victoria manages its resources and helps its communities to take action on climate change. Sustainability Victoria provides expert advice and guidance about energy, materials and waste and conducts research that demonstrates what is possible and inspires people to make sustainable change above and beyond legal requirements.

Project aim:

The aim of the project is to develop a series of fact sheets about the financing options available for local businesses and not-for-profits organisations to invest in energy projects. The project is part of larger SV project which seeks to identify the barriers faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Not-For-Profit (NFPs) to invest in energy efficiency using available finance. One of the key findings from the research so far is that SMEs and NFPs typically do not have the knowledge of the finance options available to them for energy projects.

Project tasks:

Key project tasks include:

  • Summarise the existing research on barriers to energy efficiency for SMEs.
  • Identify existing and emerging financial options for energy projects available to businesses and NFPs in Victoria.
  • Summarise existing information about financial options to a single page (per option) and provide enough high level detail for each heading of a prescribed fact sheet template.

NB: The target audience for the fact sheets will be SMEs and NFPs

Project deliverables:

  • Summary of barriers that SMEs face in adopting energy efficiency into their businesses
  • Draft fact sheets on all available financial options

Student selection:

  • Key attributes include excellent written communication skills, independence, decision making, good interpersonal/verbal communication, organisational/planning prioritising/time management/ability to meet deadlines.
  • Suitable for Business, Sustainable Systems and Sustainable Energy Engineering, Engineering Management students.

 

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/2428941689/

GSP-SV-09: Zero Net Carbon Commercial Buildings

Nina COMPLETED
GSP-SV-09: Zero Net Carbon Commercial Buildings

Industry partner: Sustainability Victoria (SV)

Sustainability Victoria (SV) supports Victorians to be more sustainable in their everyday life; in their homes, jobs, schools and communities and in the systems and infrastructure that support a thriving Victorian economy and lifestyle. Sustainability Victoria aims to improve the way Victoria manages its resources and helps its communities to take action on climate change. Sustainability Victoria provides expert advice and guidance about energy, materials and waste and conducts research that demonstrates what is possible and inspires people to make sustainable change above and beyond legal requirements.

Project aim:

The aim of the project is to evaluate the trajectory for non-residential buildings to achieve net zero carbon by 2050 with a conservative technology scenario.

Project tasks:

Key project tasks include:

  • Meta-analysis of industry and academic research on commercial sector greenhouse gas
  • High level aggregated building stock model for current and future projections of commercial building stock
  • Scenario models to highlight three key trajectories for the commercial buildings sector towards net zero carbon by 2050 and one scenario where the sector is a net contributor
  • Calculating financial metrics including cost-benefit, simple payback, net present value (NPV) etc.

Project deliverables:

  • Spreadsheet, or equivalent, of synthesised data
  • Draft report of consolidated findings
  • Presentation (powerpoint) of research project findings

Student selection:

  • Key attributes include excellent written communication skills, independence, decision making, good interpersonal/verbal communication, organisational/planning prioritising/time management/ability to meet deadlines.
  • Sustainable Systems and Sustainable Energy Engineering, Mathematics (analytical)

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/2428941689/

GSP-SV-08: Commercial Building Retrofit Opportunities and Benefits Measurement

Nina COMPLETED
GSP-SV-08: Commercial Building Retrofit Opportunities and Benefits Measurement

Industry partner: Sustainability Victoria (SV)

Sustainability Victoria (SV) supports Victorians to be more sustainable in their everyday life; in their homes, jobs, schools and communities and in the systems and infrastructure that support a thriving Victorian economy and lifestyle. Sustainability Victoria aims to improve the way Victoria manages its resources and helps its communities to take action on climate change. Sustainability Victoria provides expert advice and guidance about energy, materials and waste and conducts research that demonstrates what is possible and inspires people to make sustainable change above and beyond legal requirements.

Project aim: 

The aim of the project is to measure and identify the impacts of commercial building retrofits in Victoria. Specifically, the project will focus on energy savings, greenhouse gas emissions and cost-benefits of retrofitting existing commercial buildings.

Project tasks: 

Key project tasks include:

  • Consolidating energy efficiency data for up to 53 commercial building audits
  • Identifying key energy efficiency initiatives and sorting them into meaningful groups
  • Calculating financial metrics including cost-benefit, simple payback, NPV etc.
  • Identify key trends in uptake rate of various initiative groups
  • Comparing synthesised findings to industry and academic literature on commercial building retrofit

Project deliverables:

  • Spreadsheet, or equivalent, of synthesised data in deidentified form
  • Draft report of consolidated findings
  • PowerPoint presentation of research project

Student selection:

  • Key attributes include excellent written communication skills, analysis and research, accuracy and attention to detail, proficiency in a range of computing skills,  independence, decision making, good interpersonal/verbal communication, organisational/planning prioritising/time management/ability to meet deadlines.
  • Suitable for Data Science, Mathematics (analytical) students.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/2428941689/

GSP-BENDIGO-01 Solar PV System Data Monitoring Process

Nina COMPLETED
GSP-BENDIGO-01 Solar PV System Data Monitoring Process

Industry partner: City of Greater Bendigo (CoGB)

BACKGROUND:

The City of Greater Bendigo (CoGB) has installed a number of solar PV systems over recent years, and continues to approve the installation of solar systems on council owned buildings.

Most of the systems are on buildings that are owned and operated by the CoGB who pays for the electricity bills. However more local Committees of Management are enquiring about installation of solar systems for the buildings they manage on behalf of Council and a number of these sites have also had solar systems installed.

Much of this work have been undertaken in conjunction with the Bendigo Sustainability Group (BSG) who have a decade long history of solar bulk buy and promotional programs. The BSG has developed some good expertise in solar system specifications and have some techniques in place for monitoring some systems. However these are being monitored randomly and on an ad-hoc basis at present

AIM:

The aim of this project is to develop a standardized and reliable guideline for monitoring all solar systems on Council owned buildings. Consideration of the following items will also be incorporated into the guidelines:

  • The steps and checking process requirements leading to the installation of a suitably accredited solar system;
  • Ability to observe solar system operation and functionality;
  • The ability for data capture and download;
  • Integration with Powercor (MyEnergy portal) data and energy analysis options for individual facilities.

Establishment of the communication protocols will also be addressed in the guideline to enable efficient energy data monitoring capability. These protocols will need to be flexible to account for the variable IT communications status of the facilities. The following items will need to be addressed in establishing the guidelines:

  • Investigation of the data communications capability of different inverter options and make recommendation of a range of selected inverters;
  • Identification of on-site wi-fi capability and requirements for using this as an IT communications ‘gateway’;
  • Integration with LoRa local area network;
  • Where no wi-fi exists, explain what the process for data communications may be eg. a 3G dongle and how would that work;
  • What other options for data monitoring eg. Powercor’s MyEnergy online Smart Meter data monitoring and what it means; Solar Analytics using 3G/4G network etc.

This project will interact with CoGB Building and Property Unit and IT staff as well as individual site managers to develop flexible decision support guidelines to enable the installation of solar systems across our broad ranging portfolio of varying buildings and a coordinated approach to monitoring the system to ensure it is operating effectively.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES:

The main outcome will be to enable identification of the CoGB solar system integrity ie. to ensure it is operating effectively, or to identify breakdowns in the system at the earliest possible time. Co-benefits will enable the building operators to identify the reduction in grid based electricity consumed and cost savings.

For the broader council this will enable a consolidated cost benefit analysis for council’s investment commitments over time.

Another outcome will be the increased ‘viewability’ of the data or on-site profiling of the data leading to greater public awareness and providing the backbone for a broader public education campaign.

DELIVERABLES:

The deliverables of the project include:

Deliverable Description Initial Timing Estimate
Conceptual plan Project Plan Early July

 
Milestone 1 Literature review and survey of Solar PV monitoring systems with particular focus upon the inverter communications capability

 

 End  July
Milestone 2 Identification of system integrity and design of systems to ensure PV hardware is operating effectively, or to identify breakdowns in the system at the earliest possible time.

·         Are the systems’ facilities fit for purpose?

·         Can the sites be retro fitted?

·         Design options

·         Draft plans & drawings

·         Refer to Solar Analytics and interface with smart meters WiFi enabled connectivity over 15 sites-data capture

·         Interface with Powercor

·         Investigate future opportunities for batteries

 

 Mid August
Milestone 3 Cost benefit analysis of installing and retrofitting monitoring systems for Council’s PV assets and investment commitments over time, paying attention to consistent shared platform for all systems.

 

 Early July
Draft project plan/report

 

 Draft project plans and drawings /report as outlined in Aim, inclusive of conceptual drawings and notes Early September
Project plan/report

 

 Project plans/report. End September
Presentation A presentation on the project plan and drawings with accompanying presentation materials (eg. slides).

 

 End October

The project report shall be written up in a report with drawings and include the following sections:

  • Background
  • Assumptions
  • Conceptual designs and drawings
  • Guidelines development
  • Recommendations

The project deliverables shall be written for a wide audience. It should be assumed the majority of the audience do not have an in-depth understanding of PV monitoring systems.

WORK METHOD:

It is expected that students shall visit the council sites and asses options for PV monitoring systems, consult with relevant council staff and experts, gather and track council data and facilitate ongoing discussion through meetings with stakeholders.  To assess the physical suitability of a site, the student will be required to visit sites (accompanied by Council personnel).

The key stakeholders are:

  • City of Greater Bendigo staff (TBA, however will be a member of the Facilities Team).
  • The Bendigo Sustainability Group (BSG)
  • Other stakeholders TBA

KEY ATTRIBUTES:

Attributes required include:

  • Research skills
  • Design and CAD drawing skills
  • Ability to imagine the future requirements
  • Self-motivated.

STUDENT SELECTION:

2 electrical/communication engineering students

City of Greater Bendigo requires that it is an active participant in selection of a suitable students for this Industry Engagement.  This participation shall include Council staff reviewing the proposed student’s CV (and academic transcript to date) and may interview students.

Council would prefer to select a suitable group of students shortlisted by RMIT.

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