Strengthening the grid to make way for even more rooftop solar
When it comes to access to cheap solar energy for the average person, Australia is probably the lucky country. However, the growth in rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV) is an emerging challenge for most distribution networks in Australia and around the world and for some it’s already a critical issue. The distribution networks were never designed to handle so much solar PV and at times of high solar and low load it can cause problems for the network operator which impact all grid users. The pressure to find a solution that will meet individual customer expectations of their rooftop PV without compromising the security and reliability of the grid for all consumers is a challenge with which many networks are grappling.
SwitchDin is leading the way by developing a new approach with innovative technology. Backed with funding from ARENA, we’re excited to be working with SA Power Networks and AusNet Services, along with some of the world’s leading inverter manufacturers - SMA, Fronius and SolarEdge. Together, we’ve launched a world-first project that will allow networks to create dynamic, flexible connection agreements for solar customers, allowing network operators to accommodate high levels of rooftop PV on the grid while preserving security and reliability. The Flexible Exports project will create a path towards a win-win solution for solar PV owners and distribution network operators.
We’re excited about this project because it gets to the heart of our mission. SwitchDin was founded to organise and integrate the world’s energy resources, enabling a clean and accessible electricity system. We bridge the gap between electric utilities, electricity retailers, DER equipment manufacturers and energy prosumers. Our technology helps to increase the capacity for renewable energy to be hosted on the grid while bolstering system stability and improving operational efficiencies by unlocking multiple value streams for all stakeholders. We want to see a grid with more renewables, and our technology focuses on the resources that have to date not been deemed ‘big’ enough or ‘smart’ enough to be part of the broader energy system.
Small-scale solar: A success story and a growing challenge
Rooftop solar PV helps democratise energy for households - and nowhere is that more true than in Australia, where solar systems are affordable, popular and plentiful. However, these systems were not installed through a centrally-controlled or organised planning system.
The downside of this rapid growth in rooftop solar is that these small systems weren’t designed to play a proactive role in the grid’s operation. Unlike large-scale generation assets like coal-fired power plants or wind farms built for the ‘traditional’ grid, there is no SCADA equivalent that a home solar PV system can simply plug into. Instead, most PV inverters to date have been designed to ensure the safety and reliability of the grid, but don’t give much consideration for system-wide efficiencies or big-picture opportunities.
The Flexible Exports project aims to explore a solution to this challenge that gives structure to how inverters participate in the grid’s operation.
The Flexible Exports project builds on our previous projects & experience
The Flexible Exports project aims to explore a solution to this challenge that gives structure to how inverters participate in the grid’s operation.
Our involvement in the Flexible Exports project comes on the back of our work on similar collaborations across Australia, including with Horizon Power in their Onslow DER Project and their Smart Sun Pilot with DevelopmentWA. Through these projects, SwitchDin has demonstrated how it is possible to create an end-to-end approach that makes a big difference for utilities, retailers, aggregators and end users.
To date, we’ve integrated with close to three dozen inverter and battery brands to provide a ‘universal translation’ and enable easy communications at scale for network operators. This includes server- and client- side support for IEEE 2030.5, the newest of the emerging DER communications standards. This gives operators predictability and security in communications, and allows a wide range of manufacturers’ products to be managed cost effectively.
SwitchDin has also demonstrated that it is possible to connect with and coordinate operation of key loads such as HVAC systems, water heaters and electric vehicle chargers. This is our future vision of what DER management will look like - with energy flexibility at the core of our offering, and a feature that has the most value in a rapidly transforming energy system.
Over the next 12 months, we will be providing updates on how the Flexible Exports project is evolving together with our partners. We’re thrilled by the outcomes that lie ahead as this solution evolves and takes a more concrete shape. Most of all, we’re proud to be one of the vendors helping to build a DER-inclusive grid of the future.