![]() Furthermore, they are ideal for customers who need to power several, distinct locations, as no specific supply points are involved.īecause our power stations are not directly connected to the customer’s power supplier, these contracts do not include any dispatch costs. Being long-term, these agreements protect businesses from volatility in energy markets while facilitating access to renewable energy supplies. Conversely, if the agreed "strike price" is superior to the wholesale market price, the client pays the difference to the supplier. If this price is lower than the one determined by the wholesale electricity market, the customer receives from the supplier a rebate equal to the difference between the strike price and the wholesale market price. Virtual PPAs work under the guise of contracts for difference (CFD), under which the energy supplier and the client agree a price for the electricity to be supplied (the "strike price"). It is essentially a financial transaction, which is why this type of agreement is often referred to as a "financial PPA". With AEMO forecasting that Australia will need 15 GW of energy storage by the early 2040s and high uptake of DER already stretching the grid, technologies like virtual power plants are predicted to play an important role.A Virtual PPA is a flexible, customizable, multi-year bilateral renewable energy contract that does not involve the physical delivery of energy from the vendor to the customer, who thus does not need to change supplier. If all 19 million vehicles on Australian roads were electric, they would collectively supply as much energy storage as nine Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro schemes. Charged with renewable energy, the EVs will be connected to the grid for about 70 per cent of the time, providing backup power and discharging electricity to the grid, as well as storing excess renewable energy to help to stabilise the network. Their project has deployed 51 Nissan Leaf EVs with vehicle-to-grid capability, using the vehicles’ 40kWh batteries to deliver grid services. Nissan’s latest generation Leaf is equipped with vehicle-to-grid capability While household solar batteries are an early focus, the term ‘virtual power plant’ can refer to energy pooled from a wide range of energy assets or generators.Įlectric vehicles offer a significant opportunity, which is currently being trialled by ACT energy provider ActewAGL to provide FCAS to support the grid. Not just solar batteries…maybe a virtual power plant Households are rewarded for participating, generally through direct payments or bill credits. Through these projects, operators are able to remotely deploy energy from participating households for a range of services, like responding to energy shortfalls, providing frequency control ancillary services and network support. ![]() The technology is being rolled out across the country, through ARENA-funded projects like AEMO’s demonstration and Tesla’s South Australian virtual power plant. How do virtual power plants work?īy aggregating thousands of individual home batteries, virtual power plants allow renewable energy to be injected into the grid with lightning speed to address frequency and voltage imbalances, local disruptions or disturbances and keep the network stable. Virtual power plants are emerging as an important part of the mix, harnessing the collective power of Australia’s behind-the-meter energy assets. ![]() So to keep the grid balanced and ensure power is available whenever it is needed, network operators are looking for ways to store renewable energy. That’s a lot of energy – more than eight times the capacity of the former Hazelwood power station, or four times the capacity of the Liddell power station.īut naturally solar panels don’t generate electricity at night, and a grid with more weather-reliant renewable energy will have more variability. ![]() Home batteries are also growing rapidly, with more than 73,000 systems storing almost 1.1 GW of power. Obviously a single rooftop solar system and a home battery cannot do the job of a power station, but what about one thousand home batteries, or ten thousand… or a million? Virtual power plant maybe?Īre virtual power plants popular in Australia?Īustralians are world-leaders for rooftop solar, installing more than 2.5 million systems with a collective capacity of more than 10 GW.
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