Australia has become an incubator and a laboratory where distributed energy resources (DER) integration technologies can be tested and validated, according to a new report from Navigant Research.
While Australia is often perceived as an isolated energy market, recent developments are steering industry focus its way.
Power outages, wholesale and retail price spikes, and among the highest penetrations of distributed solar PV in the world are laying the groundwork for energy innovation in Australia, especially when it comes to DER integration.
The report, Capitalizing On Integrated DER in Australia, discusses why Australia is an ideal environment for DER integration technologies and strategies.
“Blackouts and skyrocketing retail power prices in 2017 have created the perfect storm in Australia for quick answers to reliability, flexibility, and cost containment,” Navigant research director Peter Asmus said.
“If there is one place in the world where the promises of DER can be validated sooner rather than later, for both prosumers and consumers, that place is Australia.”
According to the report, the discussion in Australia boils down to the business case behind customers remaining with the grid network, contrasted with the impulse to abandon the grid.
If implemented right, DER integration solutions offer the benefits of resiliency, reliability, and participation in what has been described as the electron commons, sharing the economic and environmental benefit embedded in clean energy assets.
The study also examines how these solutions offer revenue opportunities with wide-ranging applications for global markets today and how some Australian vendors are leading the charge.
It explores the prospects provided by Australia’s DER integration initiatives, including advanced remote microgrids, prosumer-based VPPs, and cutting-edge TE options such as blockchain, and how they will affect utilities, private technology vendors, and consumers.