Yates Electrical deploys dispatch control tech to respond to price signals

With negative price events becoming increasingly common on the NEM, the ability to rapidly curtail PV power plant output is becoming a necessity for asset owners. To meet this need, Meteocontrol is introducing its new Remote Power Control (RPC) feature to all large-scale PV asset owners and operators on the NEM.

The RPC feature has been added to Meteocontrol’s VCOM platform. The company reports that it can work parallel with the Network Service Provider protocol to allow for remote control of the PV power plant output.

Meteocontrol reports that RPC can automatically adjust solar power dispatch in response to wholesale electricity prices on the NEM, “within seconds”.

“By automatically adjusting dispatch according to market conditions, Meteocontrol’s technology allows owners and operators to maximise the financial performance of solar PV assets, while minimising disruption of day to day operations,” Meteocontrol Australia Managing Director David Barshevski said in a statement.

YES Energy, which was granted a retail license last month, is deploying the RPC feature on the 40 MW fleet of solar power plants developed by Yates Electrical Services, to avoid exporting during negative price periods – which could be a particularly costly proposition given its 40 MW solar portfolio is located in South Australia.

“Meteocontrol’s RPC technology has allowed YES Energy to effectively manage our solar portfolio during these intervals,” said YES Energy MD Mark Yates. “The technology is simple to implement and easy to use, allowing us to seamlessly control the output of our network of solar farms and quickly adapt to price signals from the market.”