Australia’s electricity system was designed around a centralised model, where networks in particular are required to stay in their own tightly regulated ‘swim lanes.’ But with the rise of rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles, integrating decentralised energy is proving a major challenge.
Ausgrid, the country’s largest electricity distributor, has proposed a bold pilot to turn unused commercial rooftops into solar hubs, link them with community batteries, and share that power with 32,000 households, including renters and apartment dwellers who can’t access solar.
The model could potentially lower bills, reduce network costs, reduce the amount of new transmission that’s needed, and make the system fairer.
Critics, however, warn that allowing networks to move into generation and storage could stifle competition, raising big questions about who should deliver local power and how to balance innovation with consumer fairness.
Marc England, the CEO of Ausgrid, puts the case for embracing opportunities that are currently being missed.
https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/2155525440Middle of the day wholesale electricity prices are rising, and prices in the evening peak…
UNSW groups set new perovskite efficiency record but the real secret sauce is a new…
Envision Australia’s Peter Cowling talks their plans and the state of the energy transition.
Australia can now boast of record amounts of wind farm construction starts this year, but…
Andrew Forrest-owned Squadron wants to build a massive wind farm in western Victoria and connect…
A sunny Spring has delivered two new output records for rooftop solar in two Australian…