Project Converge is an initiative aimed at showcasing new orchestration capabilities for distributed energy resources (DER) known as ‘Shaped Operating Envelopes’ (SOE). Sponsored by ARENA through its Advancing Renewables Program, the $8.4 million project is led by Evoenergy in collaboration with ANU's Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program, Zepben, and the ACT Government.
The project includes over 1000 customers in the ACT region and is making learnings not only in terms of the technical requirements of SOE’s but also the social implications. It’s important to us to keep electricity prices low and have a network that is equitable to all participants.
Project Converge aims to alleviate electricity network congestion, which limits the capacity to accommodate additional energy flows. When the network becomes congested, DER (like solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles) lose their efficacy in maintaining energy reliability and security.
Project Converge will demonstrate how solar, batteries and electric vehicles can provide network ancillary services and bid into energy markets. This will enable DER to alleviate grid constraints caused by power quality or physical network constraints and prevent the need for additional network investment.
Through Project Converge Evoenergy will:
- design and develop a system to support the integration of solar, batteries and electric vehicles into the ACT electricity network
- deploy new software systems to demonstrate the shaped operating envelope concept for solar, batteries and electric vehicles
- integrate hardware, software and systems to pilot capabilities with up to 1,000 existing customer-owned solar and battery systems
- deliver open-source, royalty free designs and models which can be adopted by other Australian electricity distributors, and
- deliver a range of knowledge sharing reports and webinars to share lessons with industry.
In the project's initial phase, Evoenergy will cooperate with partners and existing battery aggregators in the ACT to engage potential participants. As the trial reaches its completion in March 2024 we are looking forward to sharing our learnings with the industry and the wider public. Further details can be also found at the official Converge ARENA website.
The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government, and the Australian Government does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein.