Photo: Rafał Weron
Energy Finance Christmas Workshop (EFC24)
12-13.12.2024, Sydney, Australia
For its 11th edition the Energy Finance Christmas Workshop series returns to Sydney, where it was last held in 2012. EFC24 will focus - among other topics – on the financial resilience and sustainability of electricity markets which should be designed to provide reliable, affordable and clean energy to households and firms. The workshop aims to provide a ‘great leap forward’ (see photo above 😉) in the current energy finance landscape.
Sydney, Australia's largest city, captivates with its stunning harbor, iconic landmarks, and vibrant culture. The majestic Sydney Opera House and the grand Sydney Harbour Bridge dominate the skyline, offering breathtaking views and unforgettable experiences. Sun-soaked beaches like Bondi and Manly provide the perfect escape, while lush parks and botanical gardens invite relaxation. The city's diverse culinary scene, thriving arts, and dynamic nightlife reflect its multicultural charm.
The workshop will be organized by Stefan Trück and held at the City Campus of Macquarie University – approximately 10 minutes walk from famous Circular Quay.
Participants
Participation is by invitation only. Confirmed participants:
- Mahdi Abolghasemi (Queensland University of Technology, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Reza FathollahZadeh Aghdam (Macquarie University, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Derek Bunn (London Business School, UK 🇬🇧)
- Lin Han (Macquarie University, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Rangga Handika (Tokio International University, Japan 🇯🇵)
- Katja Ignatieva (University of New South Wales, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Takashi Kanamura (Kyoto University, Japan 🇯🇵)
- Ruediger Kiesel (University Duisburg-Essen, Germany 🇩🇪)
- Arkadiusz Lipiecki (Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland 🇵🇱)
- Iain Macgill (UNSW Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Katarzyna Maciejowska (Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland 🇵🇱)
- Bruce Mountain (Victoria University, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Marjan Nazifi (Macquarie University, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Christina Nikitopoulos (University of Technology Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Weronika Nitka (Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland 🇵🇱)
- Arvind Rangarajan (Macquarie University, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Ritvana Rrukaj (NMBU Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway 🇳🇴)
- Santosh Sapkota (Macquarie University, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Katarzyna Sznajd-Weron (Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland 🇵🇱)
- Masoud Talebian (Macquarie University, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Stefan Trück (Macquarie University, Australia 🇦🇺)
- Rafał Weron (Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Poland 🇵🇱)
Program and venue
Thursday, December 12th
📍 Venue: Macquarie University City Campus, 123 Pitt Street, Angel Place, Level 24
09:30-09:45 Registration and ☕
09:45-10:00 Welcome by Stefan Trück (EFC24 Chair) and Rafał Weron (EFC Series General Chair)
10:00-11:00 Session 1: Net zero and the clean energy transition
Chair: Bruce Mountain (2x30min talks)
- Ruediger Kiesel, Net-zero commitments: Fact or fiction? [Slides
3.5 MB] - Iain Macgill, Is the Australian National Electricity Market 'fit for purpose' in delivering clean energy transition?
11.00-11.30 ☕/🍪 Break
11:30-13:00 Session 2: Contagion, jumps and good deal bounds
Chair: Christina Nikitopoulos (3x30min talks)
- Rangga Handika, Oil contagion: How does it differ from the cryptocurrency contagion?
- Katja Ignatieva, Empirical analysis of crude oil dynamics using affine vs. non-affine jump-diffusion models
- Takashi Kanamura, Sustainability arbitrage pricing of ESG derivatives
13.00-14.00 🍲/🍔 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Session 3: Demand response, price-setting, and arbitrage
Chair: Katarzyna Maciejowska (3x30min talks)
- Derek Bunn, Estimating and forecasting the unobservable components of electricity demand response with inverse optimization [SSRN Working Paper]
- Santosh Sapkota, Flexibility premiums in price setting of wholesale electricity markets: a quantile regression approach [Slides 3.3 MB]
- Weronika Nitka, Arbitrage in short-term electricity markets - what we can gain from multidimensional probabilistic forecasts [Slides 1.2 MB]
15.30-16.00 ☕/🍪 Break
16:00-17:30 Session 4: It’s all about wind
Chair: Rafał Weron (3x30min talks)
- Mahdi Abolghasemi, Harnessing cross-temporal hierarchies for advanced wind energy forecasting [Slides 0.8 MB]
- Ritvana Rrukaj, A signal processing approach to forecasting seasonal load in electricity markets
- Christina Nikitopoulos, Stochastic modelling and forecasting with applications to wind derivatives: The Australian case
18.30-21.00 Conference dinner
🐌 Venue: The Little Snail, 3/50 Murray St, Pyrmont NSW 2009
Please allow 15-20 minutes to walk from the Macquarie University City Campus to the restaurant. Alternatively, it is 5-10 minutes by taxi.
Friday, December 13th
📍 Venue: Macquarie University Main Campus, North Ryde
10:00-11:00 Session 5: Electricity system planning and infrastructure
Chair: Derek Bunn (2x30min talks)
- Bruce Mountain, Integrated system planning: All that is old is new again [Slides 0.5 MB]
- Masoud Talebian, The value of interconnection
11.00-11.30 ☕/🍪 Break
11:30-13:00 Session 6: Economic evaluation and probabilistic forecasting
Chair: Iain Macgill (3x30min talks)
- Katarzyna Maciejowska, Electricity price forecasting in BESS management - linking statistical and economic measures [Slides 2.9 MB]
- Lin Han, The value of dispatchability and earnings-at-risk of electricity generators under energy transition [Slides 2.6 MB]
- Arkadiusz Lipiecki, Postprocessing of point predictions for probabilistic forecasting of day-ahead electricity prices
13.00-14.00 🍲/🍔 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Session 7: The energy-affluence nexus, carbon offsets, and market quality
Chair: Ruediger Kiesel (3x30min talks)
- Reza FathollahZadeh Aghdam, Dynamics of energy-affluence nexus in Scandinavian countries: Time-sensitivity and circularity analysis
- Marjan Nazifi, What drives emerging carbon credit markets? An empirical analysis
- Arvind Rangarajan, Assessing the quality of electricity markets [Slides 1.4 MB]
15.30-15.45 EFC24 wrap-up by Stefan Trück and Rafał Weron
16.00-20.00 🎄 Christmas Party at the Transforming Energy Markets Research Centre
Getting there
✈ The nearest international airport is Sydney Airport.
🚆 The Airport Link offers a fast (13 minutes) and convenient way to reach the Sydney CBD, with trains running approximately every 10 minutes. The International station can be accessed from the arrivals level of the terminal, past Arrivals Hall A. To use this service, you can either purchase an Opal Card from the station or WH Smith, or tap on with your Amex, Visa or Mastercard. For more information see the Transport NSW Trip Planner.
🚕 The Sydney CBD is a short, 20 minute taxi ride from the airport and will cost about 45-55 AUD one way. You'll find taxi ranks at the front of all terminals - simply follow the signs to the nearest ranks.
Hotels nearby
For suggestions, visit http://www.booking.com