Turning surplus solar into savings – community power network trial underway
Using a network of community batteries, the initiative will unlock a major untapped energy resource – boosting the rooftop solar output of industrial zones, shopping centres, schools and other large buildings – to share surplus solar across an entire neighbourhood closer to where it’s needed, powering thousands of homes and businesses.
The Community Power Network is intended to benefit around 32,000 Ausgrid customers across parts of Sydney and the Central Coast, including people who rent, live in apartments or can't afford to install their own energy resources.
Ausgrid CEO Marc England said the trial was about creating a fairer energy system that shares the benefits of surplus solar with the local community.
"Today, many of the benefits of solar or batteries are only available to people who own a suitable home and can afford the upfront cost. The Community Power Network addresses this by encouraging large rooftop owners to install more than they need and then enabling neighbouring renters, apartment dwellers and other households to share in the benefits,” Marc said.
"Solar panels can produce more electricity than an area needs in the middle of the day. Now, a lot of that energy isn’t needed because fewer people are at home to use it. The trial addresses this by storing that extra solar power in a network of community batteries and releasing it later during the evening, when people are using more electricity.
"This ensures efficient use of local solar capacity while reducing the dependency on infrastructure upstream of the community to deliver electricity from further away.
“We will generate a profit pool from operating the batteries, which we’ll share back with all homes and businesses, through an annual bill rebate.
“We’ll be working with local communities, researchers and consumer groups to make sure the savings are distributed in a way that's fair and reflects what local people value most. This could mean savings of around $150 to $200 a year for someone without any solar panels of their own.
"The trial will also make it possible for people with solar to earn more for the extra electricity they share with the community, encouraging more homes and businesses to install solar.”
Community consultation on potential battery locations is underway in the first trial area spanning Botany, Mascot, Pagewood, Eastlakes and Roseberry. Consultation for the Central Coast will begin next year.
The trial is supported by $13.2 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the Community Power Network trial would help build practical evidence on the different ways local solar, batteries and other distributed energy resources can be coordinated to benefit customers and the grid.
“ARENA is supporting a range of trials to understand what works best in practice, including market-led approaches and, through this project, a network-led model,” Mr Miller said.
“Testing these models side by side is important because future policy and regulatory decisions need to be informed by real-world evidence. This pilot will help show how a network-led approach could work in practice, what safeguards may be needed, and how it could sit alongside other models in a way that supports customers and the grid.”
RACE for 2030 is also supporting UNSW to undertake surveys and analysis on the trial to monitor the benefits generated for communities and to compare this to other models being tested in Australia and overseas.
RACE for 2030 CEO Bill Lilley said the project received grant funding from the Australian Government through the Cooperative Research Centres Program.
“RACE for 2030 and UNSW will independently assess how the Community Power Network benefits can be shared fairly, while identifying the market, regulatory and behavioural factors needed to support wider adoption.”
UNSW Energy Institute CEO Dani Alexander said, “UNSW is pleased to be supporting this project through independent research that will help define what equitable energy sharing looks like in practice and assess how effectively this innovative model delivers on that promise.”
The Community Power Network trial builds on Ausgrid's Energy Storage as a Service program and other initiatives designed to help more people share in the benefits of renewable energy and save on their power bills.
For more information, visit ausgrid.com.au/CommunityPowerNetwork