The future of energy is changing, and to make sure we change with it too, we have some initiatives and projects underway that are focused on innovative technology.
Project Converge
We’ve partnered with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at the Australian National University (ANU), the ACT Government and Zepben to lead a project that will implement ‘shaped operating envelopes’ in our electricity network.
Shaped operating envelopes provide a multi-dimensional view of the best operational conditions for an asset. It helps distributors like us make informed decisions about when and how to deploy energy.
These are new to Canberra’s electricity network and will enable us to manage the electricity network in a way that takes into account two-way energy flows, network constraints in the area and the unique import and export capability for each solar and battery connection.
Ginninderry Residential Battery Trial
With the support of the ACT Government and the Ginninderry Joint Venture, Evoenergy has commenced subsidising residential batteries for up to 75 homes in Ginninderry Stage 1A to explore how small-scale solar and batteries interact with local electrical infrastructure in areas where there is 100 percent solar uptake.
Through this project, we are collaborating with these battery owners to alleviate network congestion during peak demand periods. This is being achieved through the trial of a new cost-reflective tariff designed to support the local electricity grid, and provide customers with more control over their electricity bills. This project will play an important role in helping evolve the way we manage network demand and ensure our energy network continues to be resilient, reliable, safe and secure into the future.
We have had varying success with community engagement and, following the closure of the ACT Government’s Next Gen Energy Storage Program Grant in fiscal year 2022/23, the trial will be re-scoped in order to continue to provide value to customers. The Ginninderry Joint Venture will continue to support Evoenergy with the project re-scope and assist with community engagement in order to boost participation.
See more information about the funding we’ve received for this project under the ACT Government’s Renewable Energy Innovation Fund.
Electric vehicles
We’ve completed a number of trials to understand electric vehicle charging behaviours and how EVs interact with the electricity network. Some of these projects include:
- Realising Electric Vehicle-to-Grid Services (REVS): funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the trial banded together a range of consortium members to monitor how EVs can inject electricity back into the grid at times there is a high strain on the network. The Nissan Leaf EVs used for the trial were able to feed power back into the grid using a bi-directional charger. Read more.
- EV Grid Trial: we partnered with Jemena and JET Charge to trail how EV charging impacts the network. In the ACT, 25 customers took part in the trial and had a smart wall charger installed. The chargers allowed the EV owners and Evoenergy as the distributor to collaborate on charging usage during peak consumption times. Read more.
DER integration and automation
From 2019-2021 we led the DER Integration and Automation project to investigate and test options for how Distribution Energy Resources like solar and batteries can be best utilised. This was through a Distributed Energy Marketplace using a Distributed Energy Resources Management System (DERMS) model for technical validation.
The project successfully demonstrated how consumer-owned energy assets can be managed to ensure the electricity network is operated within its technical limits. You can read more about the projects and see the reports here.
