Energy Management Systems

The Schools Virtual Power Plant pilot project, part of the WA Government’s $66.3 million investment in solar and batteries in its WA Recovery Plan from the impacts of Covid-19, will see ten schools transformed into VPPs. The two year trial is expected to bring reduced electricity bills to schools, improved grid stability, and increased solar uptake in the local community.

Neoen’s Hornsdale Power Reserve has gone to work in the first half of 2020, virtually tripling the French renewables developer’s storage revenue on comparative 2019 levels. However, this growth was largely caused by a one-off event, and a slower Q2 highlights the need for FCAS policy renewal. Neoen’s Australian solar revenues could also achieve little more than consistency thanks to poor conditions.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has decided to give energy businesses an extra three months to prepare the IT overhaul necessary for the five-minute settlement market reform. The decision comes in response to concerns that the unprecedented impacts of Covid-19 necessitated extra breathing space.

A New Safe and Reliable Energy Storage and Conversion Technologies Research Hub is one of five grant recipients of the Australian Research Council’s funding for Industrial Transformation. The Hub will seek to develop new technologies in energy storage to eliminate the risk of fire, as well as addressing the environmental impact of current technologies. 

Western Australia is pioneering new strategies to manage its burgeoning rooftop-top solar resource. Next stop on its DER Roadmap? Engaging commercial and industrial energy users/producers in rewarding strategies for balancing generation and demand.

Adelaide-based renewable and microgrid energy solutions firm AZZO is taking advantage of its strong Australian root system to expand into the U.S. market. 

In a bid to encourage competition, the Morrison Government has announced its formal application of the Consumer Data Right regime to the energy sector. It is a move supported by the Australian Energy Council and Energy Consumers Australia but how much power can the consumer expect in the Big Data revolution?

Amid the urgent need to slow climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency makes sense. But as Australia’s chief scientist Alan Finkel last week warned, we’re not “anywhere close to having that nailed”.

Seaside sunshine is a hallmark of the Western Australian regional city of Busselton. Now a number of residents will be able to access a community battery to better manage their solar generation for use during the starry nights.

A new Battery Performance Standard for residential and small-scale commercial applications has finally been submitted to Standards Australia. If adopted, the standard could clarify consumer confusion around which energy storage system is right for them.