Distributed Energy Resources funding round
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INVESTMENT PRIORITY: Delivering secure and reliable electricity
LEAD ORGANISATIONS: See Table 11 below
ARENA FUNDING: $9.6 million
LOCATIONS: Various
With two million grid-connected solar systems already installed on the roofs of Australian households, and other forms of distributed energy resources (DER) also set to play a key role in shaping the future energy system, ARENA launched a funding round in 2018 for projects that could identify solutions to the nation’s DER challenges.
The 12 successful projects and studies will help to solve the challenges of integrating DER into Australia’s electricity system.
DER includes behind-the-meter technologies such as rooftop solar, home batteries, inverters, controllable loads (both in homes and commercial / industrial facilities), electric vehicle charging points, smart appliances and systems (such as fridges, air conditioning systems, hot water heaters and pool pumps), as well as relevant enablers such as smart meters and data services.
The results of the funding round were announced in early 2019, with $7.21 million committed to five pilot projects that will trial new ways to maximise the amount of distributed energy that the network can accommodate, while maintaining the stability of the system. A further $2.38 million was allocated to seven studies that will investigate how to successfully integrate ‘high penetration’ or large amounts of distributed energy into the energy market and grid.
|
ARENA FUNDING |
LOCATION |
|
|---|---|---|
|
PILOT PROJECTS |
||
|
Zeppelin Bend Publishing operating envelopes to the node to support the integration, orchestration and coordination of high-penetration DER in electricity distribution networks |
$4.29 million |
NSW |
|
Jemena Electricity Networks Demonstration of innovative grid-based power electronics technology applications to increase network DER hosting capacity and improve the quality of customer electricity supplies |
$1.12 million |
VIC |
|
SA Power Networks Advanced VPP grid integration |
$1.03 million |
SA |
|
Solar Analytics Enhanced reliability through short time resolution data around voltage disturbances |
$492,000 |
NEM-wide |
|
RACV Smart hot water system |
$273,000 |
VIC |
|
STUDIES |
||
|
CitiPower and Powercor DER hosting capacity study |
$164,000 |
VIC |
|
Dynamic Limits DER feasibility study |
$292,000 |
NSW & SA |
|
University of Tasmania Optimal DER scheduling for frequency stability study |
$528,000 |
TAS |
|
CSIRO National low-voltage feeder taxonomy study |
$485,000 |
National |
|
Oakley Greenwood Pricing and integration of DER study |
$207,000 |
NEM-wide |
|
Australian National University National energy simulator feasibility study |
$500,000 |
ACT |
|
University of Melbourne Advanced planning of PV-rich distribution networks study |
$204,000 |
VIC |
HOW THIS PROJECT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
The 12 projects and studies will help to empower energy consumers by maximising the potential benefits of DER technologies for the households and businesses that own them, while keeping the grid secure.
Visit
https://www.transparency.gov.au/annual-reports/australian-renewable-energy-agency/reporting-year/2018-2019-27