Energy Management Systems

It’s a minor concern compared to the tragic loss of life, livelihoods and biodiversity caused by the bushfires still ravaging parts of Australia, but reduced output by PV systems due to smoke haze is an unwelcome bi-product of blazes that have burned at a scale and ferocity never seen before.

The Australian peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading pioneer has purchased a 250kW PV system that will utilize the company’s new energy data management and settlement system to provide greater visibility on renewable energy sold to a consumer under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Australia’s green bank has partnered with Bank of Australia to deliver discounted interest rates to green home builders and buyers. The green home loan is the first Australian financial instrument to use energy efficiency measurement tools to determine eligibility.

Esperance has a new green deal for the supply of its electricity until 2042. The agreement, which commences in 2022, seeks to cut carbon emissions and features a new a battery storage system and renewables hub complete with solar farm.

The WA Government has allocated funding from its Renewable Hydrogen Fund toward seven feasibility studies that could pave the way for significant renewable hydrogen projects around the state.

Queensland’s first community-scale battery is nearing completion after the delivery of its 4 MW Tesla battery. The battery, to be charged with excess solar power from Townsville’s residential rooftop PV, should connect to the grid by the end of the summer.

Researchers at Sydney’s Macquarie University have developed a multi-functional device that can be easily installed in any EV to alleviate energy anxiety in the vehicle and the household. The Intelligent Charger could be the necessary bridge in the transition to EVs.

Australia’s bushfire crisis is beginning to expose a National Energy Market over-reliant on vulnerable individual elements. Does Australia’s changing environment necessitate a localised energy future?

This cataclysmic bushfire season demonstrates the risk that climate change poses to Australia’s economic and social prosperity. Stanford’s international roadmap to freedom from fossil fuels by 2050 says Australia needs another 280 GW of solar PV and tens of billions of dollars of investment to turn down the heat.

As the energy landscape continues to evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century, digitalization is growing within generation, distribution and transmission. On the demand management side, Amber Electric is seeking to bring transparency to the market, passing wholesale prices directly to consumers for a $10 flat monthly fee. The Melbourne-based start-up is readying to expand its offering in 2020, as home batteries, EV chargers and other smart devices establish a firmer hold in the Australian electricity market, says Dan Adams, co-founder of Amber Electric.