Energy Management Systems

Queensland government-owned energy company Energex is pushing ahead with the deployment of up to 35 pole- and ground-mounted community batteries in the city of Ipswich as it explores how to best store and reuse solar energy from the state’s approximately 1 million rooftop solar systems.

Building clean-tech manufacturing in Australia could generate $215 billion in domestic revenue and create 53,000 new jobs by 2035, according to a new report published by independent think tank Beyond Zero Emissions.

Modelling by The Australia Institute asserts that if the country’s commercial and institutional buildings shifted just one third of their electricity consumption to the middle of the day when there is a peak in solar supply it would deliver new peak capacity in the energy market of almost 12 GW.

More than 6,000 homes and businesses in Western Australia’s Kimberley now have the option to install rooftop PV with regional energy provider Horizon Power confirming that its Smart Connect Solar technology that removes network hosting capacity constraints is now available in the town of Broome.

An ‘Australian first’ demonstration of aggregated flexible demand in residential settings will be rolled out in South Australia with the state’s principle electricity distributor to deliver smart energy upgrades for 500 households as part of a pilot program that aims to coordinate power usage to better support the grid.

Two Victorian energy companies are putting their know-how to the test by using technology to solve flexible demand issues for residential, commercial, and industrial customers, with the aim of matching variable energy sources like rooftop solar, to supply and demand.

Fifteen fire stations in Victoria’s northeast have been fitted with a combined 108 kW of rooftop solar in a move designed to improve energy security and increase community resilience during emergency events including extreme weather and bushfires.

Ireland-headquartered smart energy company GridBeyond plans to expand its operations in “key market” Australia as part of a broader global growth strategy after securing more than $86 million in new funding.

The Ballarat Energy Network is on track to decentralise the regional city’s electricity network with a long-term view to supply the Victorian community’s 120,000 residents with 100% renewable energy generated by local distributed energy resources.

Solar access will be expanded throughout regional Western Australia with state-owned energy provider Horizon Power announcing plans to roll out “state-of-the-art” internet-connected technology that will help balance energy on regional microgrids.