From my childhood, I remember an old Tanzanian proverb: "We do not inherit the Earth; we just borrow it from our children". I believe that if we all accept this way of thinking, sustainable power generation will soon become common practice.

Our theme for the Australian Universities Power Engineering Conference this year is "Going with the Wind". This theme reflects the current trend in power engineering, as many countries around the world begin taking the need to introduce new renewable energy technologies seriously in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Wind power generation is the fastest growing power generation sector in the world, with power output more than tripling over the last five years. The wind power generated around the world has risen from 13,500 MW at the end of 1999 to over 47,000 MW today, generating enough electricity to serve over 9 million homes (more than enough to serve all homes in Australia today!). Currently, most of that capacity is concentrated in Europe - in Germany (16,629 MW), Spain (8,263 MW) and Denmark (3,117 MW). Australia is catching up however, with many wind farms soon to be installed in Tasmania and South Australia. Although wind power generation is currently only 67 MW in Tasmania, it is rapidly expanding, with the total soon to reach 143 MW. Furthermore, proposals for a further 674 MW are being investigated - we really are going with the wind!

"Going with the Wind" is interpreted in the University of Tasmania in the context of the co-operative research programs we have with local power industries. These programs aim to study issues associated with sustainable power generation in this state, and it is hoped that the outcomes of our research will be noted widely.

AUPEC 2005 is a truly international conference with a total of 258 papers from 24 countries submitted, all of them double peer reviewed for their technical content, contribution and originality (for which grateful thanks are due to our reviewers). Consequently, 135 high quality papers have been selected for presentation at the conference. The aim has been to ensure quality and a wide variety of topics whilst also keeping our theme in focus. It is hoped that this, the premier Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference, will be of considerable interest to industry as well. Particular attention has been paid to the provision of keynote speakers in important areas of topical interest. There is also an expert panel discussion session on issues of power engineering education in Australia.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of our sponsors: Hydro Tasmania, Aurora Energy, Transend Networks, Ceanet, IEE, IEEE and IEAust. Such support goes a considerable way to ensuring the success of this conference. We are also thankful to the Australasian Committee for Power Engineering (ACPE) for their significant assistance in the organisation of the conference.

On behalf of the organising committee I have great pleasure in welcoming you to what we are sure will be a most stimulating and worthwhile conference.


Michael Negnevitsky
AUPEC 2005 Chair