Project Symphony tunes up Virtual Power Plant
The State Government has concluded a $36 million two-year trial of virtual power
plant technology, finding that more than $920 million in value could be created by harnessing excess power produced by solar panels and home batteries.
The trial, Project Symphony, was run by Western Power, Synergy, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and the State Government through Energy Policy WA.
More than 500 customers and 900 devices including rooftop solar, battery energy storage and major smart appliances were involved in the project.
The devices, referred to as customer-owned Distributed Energy Resources (DER),
were aggregated to form a Virtual Power Plant.
These assets were orchestrated to participate in the energy system under several
key scenarios, which tested the ability of DER to address the challenges associated with managing the ‘peaks and troughs’ of electricity demand at both the system
and local levels.
Orchestration is when a platform tells energy assets such as home batteries or electric vehicles to charge at certain time of the day, particularly to take advantage of plentiful, cheap energy. It can also coordinate them to join forces to send energy back into the grid when it is needed.
Homes and businesses in the Southern River areas of Atwell, Harrisdale, and Piara Waters took part in the project. The Southern River area was chosen because
of the high uptake of rooftop solar – almost half of all homes in the area have solar systems installed.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which provided $8.55 million funding for the project, said future integration of DER across the South West Integrated System (SWIS) would allow for the further expansion of renewable energy generation across the network, leading to cleaner and cheaper energy for all electricity customers, not just
those with solar and battery systems.
It may also reduce the need for investment in traditional base load power supply, such as large-scale coal or gas-fired power plants.
A final report on the project said WA has some of the highest levels of DER globally, with 35% of homes having a rooftop solar system installed.
WA is experiencing an increase in the adoption of distributed battery energy storage, while also actively preparing for the inevitable electrification of transport via the
take up of electric vehicles (EVs) and associated charging equipment.
Energy Minister Reece Whitby said: “Thanks to Project Symphony, we now know solar power and batteries can address system and network challenges, benefit the
community, and support decarbonisation.
“Rooftop solar is already a key part of Western Australia's energy transition. Integrating distributed energy into our State's electricity market has the potential to unlock
even greater value for households, and I look forward to seeing how policy and regulatory changes can support its uptake."
The project report said that changes in small customer consumption patterns resulting from continued growth in air-conditioning demand and the uptake of EVs,
are forecast to require significant and costly upgrades to the distribution network.
“Given these factors, cleaner energy sources, including DER, are required to assume a greater role in the power system to support growing demand and alleviate
stress on the network, while also responding to the increasing sentiment from customers to decarbonise,” it said.
“It is well-documented that high ratios of ‘passive’ or unmanaged DER can have both systemic and local impacts on power quality and reliability, particularly as
electricity networks and systems for managing the power system were originally designed and built for one-way power flow.
“The impacts of increasing levels of unmanaged reverse power flow are exacerbated on large, isolated networks like the SWIS where system operators must
independently and instantaneously balance generation and demand at any given moment to maintain stability.”
The report made 18 recommendations, including the best ways to communicate with customers on the value of Virtual Power Plants.
AEMO Executive General Manager WA Kate Ryan said: “Collectively, rooftop solar is already the largest generator in the SWIS and is a key contributor in the
energy transition towards net-zero.
“When customer assets are aggregated, they develop into a large and manageable power source.
“The integration of aggregated DER into electricity markets has the potential to unlock greater economic and environmental benefits for customers and the wider community.
“Project Symphony provided the opportunity to test this, providing valuable insights into how DER can be orchestrated for use in a future commercial environment,
where customers can benefit.”