Online example shown below, based on 4 x 3-4 hour sessions.
For questions or customisation requests contact: info@greycellsenergy.com
Course objectives – is this for you?
Are you ready for the new challenges & opportunities as power markets around the world evolve?
This is an essential course both for those generating and trading electricity and for those responsible for policy within the power industry.
It leads attendees through a clear, accessible and thorough examination of the economics of power generation, from power plant cost influences to end-customer prices. It contextualises this analysis with key consideration of industry drivers and trends, including increasingly liberalised and competitive markets, evolving policy support and management frameworks, the growth and integration of renewable power sources, and the restructuring of power systems towards more decentralised operations.
Session 1: Power project economics
The cost structure and returns of power projects
Project capital, operational and marginal costs
Comparing and contrasting electricity generation options (both conventional and low-carbon): the supply matrix from an economic perspective
Cashflow essentials: profitability, risks and returns on investment
Global vs local business case variables
Key trends, including the impact of competitive auctions and other policies
Investors, “bankability” and project financing
Equity, debt and “wacc” (returns, risk perceptions and the investor universe)
What really determines “bankability”?
The crucial impact of financing structure and the cost of finance on electricity prices
Subsidy vs. support: investors and the policy environment
Future risks for power projects, including stranded assets and curtailment
Session 2: Power system disruption and the economic impacts
A system perspective on electricity costs, prices and value propositions
Illustrating the calculation and limitations of simple metrics such as “levelized cost of electricity” (lcoe) (Examples using a lcoe calculator in Excel)
Other cost metrics available to policymakers and system operators
From power plant to customer costs: key contributions along the supply chain
Sources of renewable power integration cost (and options to reduce them)
Examining key power system trends and disruptions
Electricity markets and their prices
Selling energy: understanding wholesale markets and the “merit order”
Different timescales: day-ahead, spot vs real-time/balancing markets
Examples of the critical importance of peak demand to energy prices, price volatility and the changing economic of power plants
Weather forecast uncertainty and power prices
Demand-side drivers: demand-side response (DSR), efficiency and other impacts
Session 3: Creating value from capacity and flexibility
Revenue streams from power capacity
A question of timescale: valuing capacity from sub-second to years in the future
Grid “ancillary” services and market saturation risks: present and future
Examples of markets which monetize grid services such as frequency response and reserves
Examples of markets which monetize future supply security: capacity markets
Trends in the value of grid services and the implications for electricity prices
New business models from flexibility
Defining system “flexibility” and the matrix of available delivery options
Examples illustrating the growth of dispatchable renewable power projects
Applications of energy storage and the key economic considerations
“Aggregation”: examples and business models for clean power at different scales
Emerging power plant flexibility options, including hydrogen production
Session 4: Competition, innovation and the end-customer
Selling electricity in competitive environments
Decentralization (from consumers to “prosumers”) and its economic impacts on both conventional generators and the grid
Examples of market competitive structures and industry unbundling
Utilising smart meter rollouts for innovation in pricing, including time-of-use tariffs and other market differentiators
“Smart energy” bundling and “Energy as a Service” for both C&I and residential customers
Selling direct to business: corporate PPAs and price protection approaches
Growing and emerging challenges and opportunities in the electricity value chain
The impact of electric vehicles on electricity demand curves: bulk energy, peak power and “vehicle-to-grid” (V2G); (illustrated with simple calculations)
“Sector-coupling” and electrification, including power-to-gas
Localisation of the power system (including microgrids and local or peer-to-peer electricity trading)
Aggregation and “virtual power plants” (VPPs)
Further inquiries to: info@greycellsenergy.com