SOLA5050 & SOLA9012

Renewable Energy Policy & International Programs

6 Units of Credit (UOC)
4 contact hours per week

Course Description
This course will review the objectives and strategies of renewable energy policies worldwide. It will examine
policy drivers, including environmental impact, energy security and industry development; as well as policy
instruments and how they are applied, including taxation, tariffs, targets, incentives and market-based
schemes. Policies, stakeholders, strategies and enabling environments will be illustrated with examples.
Assumed Knowledge
Students should have a basic understanding of renewable energy technologies and their applications.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
Describe key drivers for the use of renewable energy, including world energy and climate trends.
For the most common renewable energy technologies, describe deployment status, important
markets and the typical barriers to deployment.
Explain what influences renewable energy policy formation and how policy failures can occur.
Understand how new technological systems evolve and overcome inertia related to technological
change.
Distinguish between different types of policy instruments for renewable energy technology, market
and industry development.
Gain an understanding of the structure, operation and stakeholders in the Australian energy sector.
Describe barriers to renewable and distributed energy in Australian energy markets, and suggest
how market and regulatory reform could enable wider deployment.
Analyse renewable energy support policies and strategies, evaluate their effectiveness and suggest
improvements on the basis of experiences in other countries.

Professional Competencies
In taking this course, you will be encouraged to develop the following attributes, which are 6 of the 16
mandatory competencies required of Professional Engineers by Engineering Australia. See:
http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/shado/Education/Program%20Accreditation/110318%20Stage%2
01%20Professional%20Engineer.pdf
Discernment of knowledge development and research directions within the engineering discipline.
Knowledge of contextual factors impacting the engineering discipline.
Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of contemporary
engineering practice in the specific discipline.
Ethical conduct and professional accountability
Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains.
Professional use and management of information.

Course Co-ordinator:
Dr. Anna Bruce
Room 318, Tyree Energy Technologies Building
Phone: 9385 5155
Email: a.bruce@unsw.edu.au
Consultations by appointment only

Tutors:
Graham Mills Graham.mills@unsw.edu.au
Laurence Delina laurence.delina@unsw.edu.au
Franziska Mey f.mey@student.unsw.edu.au

Delivery of the Course
This course comprises four hours of formal contact per week. Undergraduates and postgraduates will attend
the same lectures, but will have different assessment tasks. The timing and rooms are given below.
Lectures:
Tue 13:00 - 14:00 Webster Theatre B (F Hall B) (K-G15-290)
Thu 13:00 - 14:00 Webster Theatre A (F Hall A) (K-G15-190)

Tutorial (one of the following):
Mon 09:00 - 11:00 Webster 250 (K-G14-250) Graham
Wed 12:00 - 14:00 Webster 250 (K-G14-250) Franziska
Wed 14:00 - 16:00 Materials Science G10 (K-E8-G10) Laurence
Wed 16:00 - 18:00 Webster 250 (K-G14-250) Graham

Lectures will be used to introduce policy concepts, analysis frameworks and tools and to describe a range of
policy instruments and their application. Up to date data and examples of policy approaches will be used to
illustrate concepts and to provide context. Students are encouraged to participate in lectures in order to
maximize their own learning.
Tutorials are designed to engage students with the course material and current developments in domestic
and international renewable energy policy. Student-led discussion on the weeks topic and participation in
discussion encourage students to stay on top of the course material, and will allow students to expand their
knowledge of the subject, engage with alternative views and improve their critical thinking.
Tutorials will generally follow the following format:
1. Student led discussion and/or exercises related to the current topic.
Groups of 5-6 students will be allocated in the first tutorial. For each of the tutorial topics denoted with a
number in the course schedule, each group will be assigned an aspect of the tutorial topic to prepare for
(sub-topic). During the tutorial, each group will introduce their assigned sub-topic, and lead discussion or
activities. Each group will be given a mark at the end of the semester for tutorial participation.
Guidance will be provided on leading the tutorial and the assessment criteria. The readings for the
tutorials will be available at least 10 days before the tutorial, as indicated in the course schedule (below).
An online discussion will be created for each topic to allow groups from different tutorials to discuss the
readings and collaborate on their preparation. Groups are encouraged to consult their tutor for support or
feedback in relation to their preparation.
2. Discussion of the weeks RE policy-related media, reports and events.
After discussion of the current weeks readings, general discussion will be based on articles of interest
from Climate Spectator and ReNew Economy e-newsletters and other relevant material brought forward
by students or tutors. Students should subscribe to and follow the material in these newsletters (it is not
necessary to read all of the articles, only those that are of most interest to you).
The UNSW Learning Centre provides advice to students on participating in tutorial discussions.
Course Evaluation and Development
At the end of the course, you will be asked to complete two evaluation forms one for the course and one
for the course coordinator using the UNSW's Course and Teaching Evaluation and Improvement (CATEI)
Process. Your feedback is much appreciated and taken very seriously. Continual improvements are made to
the course based in part on such feedback and this helps us to improve the course for future students.

Class Schedule
The schedule for lectures is given below. The topics and the order is subject to change at any time.
The readings for each topic will usually be available via Moodle 10 days or more before the relevant tutorial.
Wk
Lecture
Date
Topic
No
Lecture Tut Topic
1
4th Mar 1 Course Intro. The Energy Mega Issue
No tut
6th Mar 1 Why do we need RE policy?
2
11th Mar 2
Intro to Australian Energy Policy Processes,
Electricity Markets
Admin
1. Why do we need RE Policy?
13th Mar 3 RE Status, Barriers, Policy Framework
3
18th Mar 3 RE Status, Barriers, Policy Framework
2. Energy White Paper
(readings available 7th March)
20th Mar 4 RE Deployment Policy
4
25th Mar 4 RE Deployment Policy
3. Barriers
(readings available 14th March)
27th Mar 5 RE in the National Electricity Market (Iain MacGill)
5
1st Apr 5 Distributed Energy Markets (Muriel Watt)
4. RET Review
(readings available 21st March)
3rd Apr 6 R&D, Commercialisation, Technology Push
6
8th Apr 6 RE Business Models and Financing
4. FiTs vs RPSs
(readings available 28th March)
10th Apr 7 EE Policy
7
15th Apr 7 EE Policy
5. Distributed Energy Markets
(readings available 4th April)
17th Apr 8 International Climate Change Agreements.
Mid Semester Break
8
29th Apr 8 International Climate Change Agreements
7. EE Certificate Schemes
(readings available 18th April)
1st May 9 Bioenergy Policy and Sustainability
9
6th May 10 Carbon Pricing, Emissions Trading, Taxes
8. International
Agreements/NAMAs (readings
available 25th April)
8th May 10 Direct Action
10
13th May 11 Industry Development and Technological Transitions
10. Emissions Reduction Fund
(readings available 2nd May)
15th May 12 Case Study
11
20th May 13 Aust RE Policy and the RE Industry (CEC)
Budget (brought down 13th May)
U/G Presentations
22nd May 14 Community RE
12
27th May 15 RE Project Financing and Policy (First Solar)
U/G presentations
29th May 16 The Australian RE Agency
13 No lecture U/G Presentations

Assessment

Assessment Rationale
Preparation for tutorial discussions will encourage students to actively engage in the course throughout the
semester. Written assignments will require students to collect information about renewable energy policy
instruments, their use and detailed design; and to use critical thinking to interpret, analyse and evaluate the
drivers for and impacts of policy processes and instruments.

Presentations will give undergraduate students the opportunity to communicate their research to an
audience succinctly, requiring discipline in the organisation of ideas and choice of information to present, as
well as clear communication. Exposure to the presentations of others will give students a broad overview of
domestic and international policy approaches to renewable energy.

Assessment Tasks
Assessment consists of tutorial participation, one written assignment (undergraduate and postgraduate
assignments will be different), and a final 3-hour examination paper. For undergraduate students, a
presentation will also be made on the basis of the assignment, and presented after the assignment has been
submitted. Weightings are as follows:
Undergraduate Assessment
Task % Due
Tutorial participation 15% weeks 3-10
Undergrad Assignment 30% Fri wk 11
Undergrad Presentation 10% week 12 or 13
Final Exam 45% TBA

Postgraduate Assessment
Task % Due
Tutorial participation 15% weeks 3-10
Postgrad Assignment 40% Fri wk 12
Final Exam 45% TBA

Adequate explanation will need to be provided for missed tutorials otherwise a mark of zero will be
recorded for tutorial participation in that week. Students who arrive very late or leave the tutorial
before the end of class without explanation will also receive a mark of zero.
Details of assignment and presentation tasks will be provided via Moodle.
The undergraduate and postgraduate assignments and examination papers will be different.
All material presented during the session, including guest lectures and tutorial discussion materials,
may be examinable.
If necessary, assessment marks may be scaled.
Course Resources
There is no text book for this course, however, a primary reading and topic specific resources will be
available via Moodle. In addition to government resources, consultant and NGO reports will often be useful
for this course. Energy Policy is the most relevant academic journal, and relevant articles also appear in
other more technology-focused journals such as Sustainable and Renewable Energy Reviews, Renewable
Energy, Progress in Photovoltaics, Wind Energy, Solar Energy etc.

Assistance with Academic Skills
Refer to the Learning Centre (http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/olib.html) for guidance in relation to report writing,
presentations, referencing, note taking and time management.
The Learning Centre website is the central University online resource for staff and student information on
plagiarism and academic honesty. It can be located at: www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism. The Learning Centre
also provides substantial educational written materials, workshops, and tutorials to aid students, for example,
in:
Writing;
Presentations;
Correct referencing practices;
Paraphrasing, summarising;
Note taking;
Time management;
Appropriate use of, and attribution for, a range of materials including text, images, formulae and
concepts.
Individual assistance may be available on request from The Learning Centre, if an appointment is made well
in advance.
Student Responsibilities and Class Policies
Attendance and Attention. Responsibility for learning marks rests primarily with the student. Lecture slides
do not necessarily contain sufficient detail to complete the assessment tasks and prepare for the exam, while
tutorials often cover different material to that covered in lectures. It is therefore recommended that you aim to
attend 100% of lectures and tutorials and take notes where appropriate, avail yourself of the course
resources, complete your assignments on time and to the best of your ability, and to be fully aware of the
course syllabus and any announcements or changes to the syllabus. You are also expected not to distract
your colleagues during lectures and tutorials.
Tutorials and Assignments. You may feel that the time required to complete the Tutorial and Assignment
exercises is disproportionately large compared to their weighting in the assessment table. However, note
that the final exam could draw on material or skills covered in tutorials and assignments. Thus, it will be of
benefit to you to put in the effort required to understand and complete the Tutorial exercises and
Assignments in preparation for the final examination.
All assignments are for individual effort and individual assessment only, with a few exceptions that will be
clearly noted. You are expected to be aware of, and you will be subject to, the UNSW and School policies
that cover plagiarism of written work (see below). You will be penalised for plagiarism in tutorial, assignment
and exam work.
Late assignments will be penalised 5% plus 5% per day that the work is late, to a maximum penalty of 50%,
unless acceptable reasons are given.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as ones own.* Examples include:
Direct duplication of the thoughts or work of another, including by copying work, or knowingly
permitting it to be copied. This includes copying material, ideas or concepts from a book, article,
report or other written document (whether published or unpublished), composition, artwork, design,
drawing, circuitry, computer program or software, web site, Internet, other electronic resource, or
another persons assignment without appropriate acknowledgement
Paraphrasing another persons work with very minor changes keeping the meaning, form and/or
progression of ideas of the original;
Piecing together sections of the work of others into a new whole;
Presenting an assessment item as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in
collusion with other people, for example, another student or a tutor; and,
Claiming credit for a proportion of work contributed to a group assessment item that is greater than
that actually contributed.
Submitting an assessment item that has already been submitted for academic credit elsewhere may
also be considered plagiarism.
The inclusion of the thoughts or work of another with attribution appropriate to the academic
discipline does not amount to plagiarism.
Students are reminded of their Rights and Responsibilities in respect of plagiarism, as set out in the
University Undergraduate and Postgraduate Handbooks, and are encouraged to seek advice from academic
staff whenever necessary to ensure they avoid plagiarism in all its forms.
Students are also reminded that careful time management is an important part of study and one of the
identified causes of plagiarism is poor time management. Students should allow sufficient time for research,
drafting, and the proper referencing of sources in preparing all assessment items.
Please see the resources page for academic assistance in relation to avoiding plagiarism.
* Based on that proposed to the University of Newcastle by the St James Ethics Centre. Used with kind
permission from the University of Newcastle.
Adapted with kind permission from the University of Melbourne.
Disabilities
If you have a disability that requires some adjustment in your teaching or learning environment, you are
encouraged to discuss your study needs with Anna Bruce prior to, or at the commencement of, the course,
or with the Equity Officer (Disability) in the EADU (phone 9385 4734). Issues to be discussed may include
access to materials, signers or note-takers, the provision of services and additional exam and assessment
arrangements. Early notification is essential to enable any necessary adjustments to be made.