Deakin University researchers have announced they will trial a virtual energy network (VEN) to explore how consumers and the broader electricity network can benefit from peer-to-peer trading of excess energy generated by rooftop solar.
Led by Deakin Business School, the VEN trial will allow eligible residents and small businesses throughout the National Electricity Market (NEM) to trade energy virtually through the existing electricity grid, share surplus or stored energy, and maximise solar energy usage while reducing grid strain.
Andrea La Nauze, the project’s lead researcher and an energy economist at Deakin, said the trial will explore the benefits to consumers and service providers of using a ‘smart’ trading platform to match solar generation with flexible off-take use and provide critical insights into creating a flexible, consumer-focused energy system.
“This is a potential game changer for how we share renewable energy,” she said. “It’s about empowering people with solar to decide where their surplus power goes and how much they charge for it, while giving more Australians access to clean energy, even if they can’t install panels themselves.”
The trial is now recruiting 400 participants from across the NEM. Successful applicants will join an online platform where sellers and buyers of energy can connect based on pricing preferences. Participants will buy and sell solar energy through a digital trading platform backed by Melbourne-headquartered retailer Energy Locals and powered by Sydney clean energy technology company Enosi’s Powertracer software.
The research team said smart meters will track participants’ energy use and solar production every five to 30 minutes, while the Powertracer software will automatically match trades based on pricing preferences.
La Nauze said the project, that builds on a community-led energy trading initiative centred around the Wingecarribee Shire Council in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, could help lay the foundation for new models of energy use across the country.
“It’s about more than saving money, it’s about giving people more choice and control and ultimately creating a more inclusive and flexible energy system,” she said.
The VEN trial is funded by lobby group Energy Consumers Australia and delivered in partnership with project management outfit QuantumNRG, ReThink Sustainability and Wingecarribee-based community group WinZero.
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