Horizon Power has completed the deployment of its Smart Connect Solar program ahead of schedule with the regional energy provider saying the “state-of-the-art” technology equips it with the necessary technical capabilities to ensure zero refusals for rooftop solar connections across its networks.
Access to rooftop PV in regional Western Australia has historically been limited so as to limit overloading local microgrids with high levels of solar energy.
Horizon said the Smart Connect Solar platform utilises a distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) to analyse weather patterns and forecast energy generation and demand. This enables real-time orchestration of a customer’s solar generation, effectively mitigating the risk of voltage and frequency fluctuations that could destabilise the electricity system and cause supply disruptions.
In addition to coordinating rooftop solar, Horizon said the DERMS will also allow it to reliably integrate and balance energy across customer energy resources like batteries and electric vehicles.
Launched in Carnarvon earlier this year, and then expanded to towns including Karratha, Port Hedland, Broome, and Exmouth, the Smart Connect Solar project has now been launched in its final eight towns – Esperance, Menzies, Onslow, Fitzroy Crossing, Yungngora, Marble Bar, Kununurra and Lake Argyle.
Horizon Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Unwin said the completion of the rollout was a significant milestone with the technology to support the expansion of rooftop solar access to thousands more customers.
“Horizon Power established the strategic goal of zero customer refusals when connecting rooftop solar by 2025, to solve the technical challenges preventing customer access to rooftop solar,” she said.
“Achieving this goal creates more customer choice to participate in renewable energy. The advanced DERMS technology underpinning Smart Connect Solar will also improve the safety and stability of our systems as they evolve to incorporate greater levels of clean energy.”
Horizon is responsible for electricity generation, transmission and distribution in a service area covering 2.3 million square kilometres, the largest geographical catchment of any Australian energy provider. The state government-owned utility manages the North West Interconnected System (NWIS) in the Pilbara; the connected network covering three interconnected systems in Kununurra, Wyndham and Lake Argyle; and 34 microgrids that service remote communities.
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