How the SA government can make 'Smarter Homes' without stifling innovation (or rooftop solar uptake)
SwitchDin welcomes the South Australian Government’s proactive approach to bringing the state’s energy system into the modern era through more sophisticated integration and management of distributed energy resources (DER), as per its ‘Smarter Homes’ consultation process. SA is already a renewable energy leader in so many ways - and the challenges that its energy system faces are the flipside of that coin.
SwitchDin is an energy software company providing distribution network service providers (DNSPs), electricity retailers, commercial facility managers and equipment manufacturers with the software to improve the way they integrate and manage renewable energy, battery storage and demand management. Our products enable customers to implement virtual power plants, microgrids, energy management solutions and integration support for DER. We ensure energy consumers, energy service companies, and aggregators have visibility, flexibility and firm dispatch of heterogeneous fleets of DER.
The Consultation Papers that the SA Government have released hit at the core of the challenges SwitchDin is working to address, covering topics near and dear to our hearts (and technology). Since our founding, we have envisioned an energy system where rooftop solar works in smooth conjunction with the ‘traditional’ grid - large-scale power plants producing energy delivered over long distances.
The Consultation Papers that the SA Government have released hit at the core of the challenges SwitchDin is working to address, covering topics near and dear to our hearts (and technology).
The consultation process is a great start to the conversation about how to take management of distributed solar forward in South Australia (and the rest of the country). However, we are concerned that some of the recommendations as they currently stand are unnecessarily onerous and could stifle innovation in the industry.
We know that solutions to the urgent problems that South Australia’s energy system is facing already exist - we know because we are delivering them. These solutions are aligned in principle with what the Consultation Papers (particularly 1, 2, 4 and 5) propose, but contain elements and alternatives that enable greater flexibility and benefits for solar system owners, energy utilities and energy consumers more generally.
Our formal submission on this topic delves into the details, but the key messages to take away are:
Remote disconnection and reconnection of solar generating plants provides only a small amount of value for the required investment to provide the solution. While the disconnection of rooftop solar plants can facilitate an increase in aggregate demand, so can coordinated control of distributed energy loads. Do not overlook this as an option to minimise the number of emergencies in which the ‘inverter off switch’ needs to be deployed. And remember that software is more ‘future proof’ than hard-wired or hardware solutions.
As there are different possible approaches to solar export management, we’d recommend not being unnecessarily prescriptive about how the rules for this are implemented. Dynamic export connection agreements for distributed solar generating systems are a great idea, and we are involved in several projects that are exploring their application and viability.
While new smart meter technical standards may be able to provide a solution, we believe that there are already more technically advanced solutions available which provide more value to all stakeholders.
Furthermore, an approach that prescribes how wires should be connected in a smart meter setup will add significant costs to certain common solar applications, rendering them uneconomical (which we know is not the intention of the government’s proposals).
Tariff reform is a great way to give energy consumers - and prosumers - an incentive to modify their behaviour in a way that benefits the energy system and energy consumers alike. We look forward to enabling prosumers take advantage of any new tariffs that are brought in by helping them to optimise the use of their energy assets accordingly.
SwitchDin is proud to be collaborating with DNSPs, equipment manufacturers, energy retailers and commercial/industrial clients around the country to deliver energy solutions that are more equitable and fit-for-purpose than inflexible or export-limited ‘business as usual’ solar PV. We look forward to continuing to help build the electricity grid of the future in South Australia as these policy changes come into place in their final, post-consultation form.