“Huge moment:” Major push to harness home PV, batteries and EVs on world’s biggest isolated grid

Western Australia has been awarded more than $20 million in federal government funding to create “Australia’s first live DER marketplace,” as it races to integrate the state’s huge rooftop solar resource and other consumer energy assets before the end of the decade.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) funding, announced late last week, will be used by state-owned utility Western Power to establish a database of distributed energy resources (DER) – mostly household PV, for now, but extending to home batteries, electric vehicles and controllable loads like air conditioners and electric hot water systems.

The three-year program, called Project Jupiter, will focus on how to operate DER within the South West Interconnected System, or SWIS, which is Western Australia’s main grid and one of the largest isolated electricity grids in the world.

The project’s goal is that by 2028, all new DER connected to the SWIS will be able to participate in a virtual power plant, allowing households to unlock greater value from their energy investments and paving the way for consumer energy to contribute to a majority renewable grid.

The joint effort of Western Power, WA gentailer Synergy, Energy Policy WA (EPWA) and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) builds on Project Symphony, which has focused orchestrating the state’s booming DER market.

Already, about 40 per cent of households within the SWIS have rooftop solar, with around 30,000 new systems installed each year. Household battery systems are also being installed at an increasing rate, as is utility-scale battery storage.

Using the findings and recommendations from Project Symphony, Arena says Project Jupiter will deliver the technical solutions to allow DER to be coordinated and participate in the SWIS via virtual power plants (VPPs), which will help put downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices.

In return for participating, DER customers will be given access to new retail products, tariffs and education programs that promise to deliver more value from their investments.

Arena CEO, Darren Miller, says Jupiter will also be vital to ensure that consumer energy resources do not compromise the reliability and security of Western Australia’s main power system.

“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,” Miller said on Friday.

WA has, in many ways, been at the bleeding edge of the shift to renewables, thanks to its stand-alone main grid and the huge amount of clean energy demand from the state’s off-grid and remote industrial power needs.

According to the latest Quarterly Energy Report from the Australian Energy Market Operator, Western Australia’s energy market, the WEM, experienced its highest peak renewable contribution of 85.1% in November last year, as well as a new high in average underlying demand of 2,539 MW. This was offset by a 110 MW (+20%) uplift in distributed PV, leading to a 16.7 MW (‑0.9%) reduction in average operational demand.

Big batteries had a big quarter, too, with an additional 425 MW of battery capacity either completed prior to the fourth quarter of 2024 or undertaking commissioning tests during the quarter.

Batteries also participated in the state’s fast response markets for the first time in a fourth quarter, capturing 36% of market share by volume, displacing gas and coal.

The potential for virtual power plants of rooftop solar energy, stored in home batteries or batteries on wheels and in EVs, is likewise huge. The trick is coordinating and controlling it – in a way that works for the grid and for consumers.

Western Power head of distribution energy transition, Andrew Blaver says Project Jupiter will accelerate the opportunity for WA households to join VPPs and earn value from their assets.

“This project will enable more consumers to join VPPs using their solar panels and home batteries, revolutionising how our energy system operates.

“By 2028, all new distributed energy resources (DER) connected to WA’s network will be able to participate in a VPP, allowing households to unlock greater value from their energy investments.”

Jai Thomas, the coordinator of energy at Energy Policy WA welcomed the Project Jupiter funding as “a huge moment and a huge work program ahead to get it done.”

“This is the big push to complete the WA government’s DER Roadmap – unleashing integrated and aggregated DER into the full suite of energy services needed to deliver energy transition,” Thomas said on LinkedIn.