PRESS RELEASE
Discover Energy, energy retailer and open-platform VPP (Virtual Power Plant) provider, has responded to the competitive solar and battery feed-in tariffs currently on offer in the Australian VPP market with a game-changing proposition of their own: 45c solar feed-in-tariffs.
Discover Energy’s VPP Premium Plan is now available for SA, NSW, QLD (Energex) customers. It offers eligible battery users a market-leading 45c solar feed-in-tariff for the first 300kwh exported back to the grid per household per quarter, with a subsequent 25c solar feed-in-tariff for the next 300 kWh. Solar exported after 600 kwh per quarter will receive a lower, but still competitive rate. This substantial tariff is also offered in tandem with access to Discover Energy’s trading platform, which has provided competitive energy trades for customers, regularly trading battery energy at spot-prices more than 100 times higher than standard market solar feed-in tariffs.
Discover Energy is able to provide these significant solar feed-in tariffs due to the performance and market spot-price forecasting ability of their energy trading platform, powered by patented algorithms and the R&D efforts of an international team of engineers. Discover Energy has also capitalised on the solar market data gathered from its sister company, One Stop Warehouse, Australia’s largest solar distributor, which reported company-record revenue of $512 million for the FY 2019-2020.
“With our sister company, One Stop Warehouse, we are able to leverage data-points from solar installations that would cover more than 200,000 Australian households. Our eight-year journey with One Stop Warehouse and our work in energy retailing in Discover Energy has meant that we have developed substantial knowledge about household demand and rooftop solar patterns, as well as insight to the crucial interrelationship between battery and inverter brands, installers and VPP platforms such as Discover Energy, all of which are needed to make VPP a viable technology for today, not just five years into the future” says Anson Zhang, CEO of Discover Energy
Launched in early 2020, Discover Energy has developed a steady following among solar and battery enthusiasts, with hundreds of Australian households across Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane signing up to the VPP platform. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, and resulting transformation of energy demands of 2020, including rising household energy consumption, more than 90% of Discover Energy VPP members are earning enough “smart income” from solar feed-in tariffs and profit-sharing energy trades that they have eliminated energy bills altogether, and are being paid credits, which in turn can be cashed out. For many households, the seemingly distant future of becoming “prosumers” of energy has already become a reality after joining Discover Energy’s VPP. With a constantly growing membership base, Discover Energy is also increasingly closer to its goal-post of providing market ancillary support such as FCAS to the South Australian energy market.
One significant feature of Discover Energy’s VPP network that distinguishes it from its competitors comes from its open-platform. Unlike other VPP’s, many of which are linked to one specific inverter or battery brand, Discover Energy aims to become available for all battery users – irrespective of brand. To date, Discover Energy has partnered with GoodWe, Sungrow, AlphaESS and Solar Edge, and aims to have 70-80% API integration with the Australian inverter market in 2021.
“VPP technology is a brave new world for renewable energy. Our open platform model, where battery users—regardless of brand of battery or inverter—will be able to join our platform, reflects our wider goal of making VPP technology as universally accessible as possible, thereby helping renewable energy dominance in the market to become an ever feasible reality, for a cleaner future for all Australians” says Anson Zhang.
About Discover Energy
Discover Energy is an innovative, Australian-owned energy retailer with a focus on localised solar-produced energy stored in batteries trading with the electricity grid via a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). Generating cheaper, smarter and greener power, Discover Energy is dedicated to saving you money whilst reducing your carbon footprint. Discover Energy currently serves customers in SA, NSW and QLD and will open to the Victorian market in early 2021. Visit https://www.discoverenergy.com.au/vpp
Media and Marketing Contact
Claudette Palomares, Marketing Specialist, claudette.palomares@discoverenergy.com.au
Terms of Conditions
Discover Energy VPP Approved Operated Products only. As part of the Discover Energy VPP Premium Offer, Solar Feed-in will be paid at the following rates:
All usage thresholds will be calculated daily. You can end this Energy Plan at any time.You must have a maximum inverter capacity of 10KW and have a maximum PV generating capacity of 13.3KW.
Full terms and conditions can be accessed on the Discover Energy website.
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