This was published 3 years ago
Victorian households to become national energy grid guinea pigs
By Rob Harris
Households and businesses in north-east Victoria will be able to buy and sell renewable electricity generated locally in a $28 million project that could be used as a blueprint for energy grids of the future.
The three-year trial, known as Project Edge, will create a real-life wholesale marketplace to buy and sell electricity from rooftop solar, household batteries, electric vehicles and smart appliances.
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor said the trial would address the limitations of the existing market frameworks, reduce electricity costs and manage challenges associated with a decentralised grid.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
It will initially involve 50 houses in the Hume region but will scale up to around 1000 residential, commercial and industrial electricity customers, helping to reduce electricity costs and managing challenges associated with a decentralised grid.
Australian Renewable Energy Agency chief executive Darren Miller said the trial would provide the road map for integrating into the grid.
He said as the take-up of non-traditional energy resources was expected to grow, it was clear these technologies were going to transform the nation's electricity system.
"While these devices and technologies can make our grid more reliable, affordable and lower emission, rapid uptake is already impacting how the grid is managed and highlighting the limitations of our existing market frameworks," Mr Miller said.
He said the trial would help develop trading mechanisms to maximise the economic benefits to customers and the system and minimise the costs of supply to all energy customers.
ARENA will provide $12.9 million in funding to the Australian Energy Market Operator, which will partner with network AusNet Services and retailer Mondo Power to co-ordinate the development of a replicable model for trading of electricity and grid services that can be expanded across the national electricity market (NEM).
The funding will support the development of market software and systems to underpin the integration of distributed energy resources (DER) in the grid.
DER, commonly known as "behind the meter" generation, continue to change the way Australia is generating and managing its energy supplies. Rather than electricity being generated by big, centralised power stations, it is starting to come from many places including millions of homes and businesses.
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor said while the technologies were transforming power generation and helping reduce emissions, rapid uptake was impacting how the NEM was managed.
He said the trial would address the limitations of the existing market frameworks, reduce electricity costs and manage challenges associated with a decentralised grid.
"This microgrid project gives control back to the consumer," Mr Taylor said.
If successful, the project would become a model for integrating DER into the NEM, he said.
AEMO emerging markets and services general manager Violette Mouchaileh said the organisation was working with industry to design and test a world-first, two-way energy system and sophisticated market for consumers to participate in the NEM.
"This trial forms part of a program to enable a smooth transition from a one-way energy supply chain to a world-leading system that maximises the value of distributed energy resources for all consumers through effectively integrating them into Australia's power systems and electricity markets."