The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $20.8 million in funding for Project Jupiter, which will see Western Power develop an end-to-end commercial solution focused on operating Distributed Energy Resources (DER) within the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) in Western Australia (WA).
DER are small-scale devices that can either use, generate or store electricity, and form a part of the local distribution system, serving homes and businesses. They include renewable generation (e.g. rooftop solar), energy storage, electric vehicles (EVs), and technology that consumers can use at their premises to manage their electricity demand.
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ARENA CEO Darren Miller said Project Jupiter was vital for integrating DER into the SWIS at scale without compromising the reliability and security of Western Australia’s main power system.
“Australia has some of the highest levels of DER globally, with no signs of slowing down. This uptake presents a big opportunity to decarbonise while helping consumers get more value, but it also poses challenges to the grid if not integrated effectively,” Miller said.
“Project Jupiter will be the first live DER marketplace in Australia that is integrated with the wholesale market, marking an important milestone in Australia’s renewable transition.”
Customers with DER who join the program will have access to new retail products which can support better returns on their DER investments. More broadly, orchestrating a large pool of customers through the energy market can lead to more optimal energy and grid management, putting downward pressure on household energy for all consumers.
Project Jupiter builds on the recently completed Project Symphony, and is being undertaken over three years in partnership with Western Power, WA energy generator and retailer Synergy, Energy Policy WA (EPWA) and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
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About 40% of households within the SWIS have rooftop solar panels, with around 30,000 new systems installed each year. Household battery systems are also being installed at an increasing rate, which enable clean energy to be stored for later use.
Using the findings and recommendations from Project Symphony, Project Jupiter will not only deliver the technical solutions to allow DER in the SWIS to be coordinated and participate in the market via virtual power plants (VPPs), but it will develop new customer products, tariffs and education programs to support customer participation and allow customers to gain more value from their DER investments.
