Australian grid operator tests 17 standalone system with PV, batteries – pv magazine International

July 10, 2023 David Carroll

From pv journal Australia

Residents in distant East Gippsland, Victoria, are taking part in Australia’s first state trial of standalone energy methods (SAPS) with Ausnet investigating the usage of the expertise as a part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen community effectivity and stability.

The distributed community service supplier says that SAPS, with a mixture of photo voltaic, batteries and a backup generator, gives an impartial, dependable and renewable energy provide answer to customers. of vitality in distant places that aren’t essentially linked to the community.

AusNet’s industrial unit, Mondo, mentioned the trial models included ground-mounted photo voltaic panels, a battery vitality storage system, and a back-up diesel generator. Self-sufficient models additionally embody management {hardware} that permits energy utilization to be tracked.

“We at the moment have 17 methods efficiently put in and working throughout Victoria and stay up for seeing extra properties and companies profit from dependable and renewable vitality,” Mondo mentioned.

The take a look at is aimed primarily at residents in distant areas with single-wire community connections. The focused areas are additionally typically bushfire and extreme-weather-prone zones the place poles and features are ceaselessly affected, resulting in outages.

Mondo, which is liable for all operations and upkeep of every standalone energy system, mentioned the SAPS goals to make use of photo voltaic vitality as the principle supply of electrical energy and is designed with a considerable amount of battery storage to reduce utilization. of the generator and enhance the customers. ‘ robust power.

With the set up and commissioning of the primary 17 SAPS now full, Mondo and AusNet will monitor and consider the methods’ efficiency as a part of an open-ended trial.

Whereas the important thing good thing about SAPS is improved stability and reliability of provide for purchasers in hard-to-reach areas, AusNet says it expects all prospects to take pleasure in price financial savings. because of not having to restore and preserve distant components of the distribution community.

Mondo mentioned the SAPS is already offering advantages to prospects, together with elevated renewables and elevated resilience throughout excessive climate occasions.

“As testing continues, we’re excited to look at and study from every system and we stay up for leveraging our information to implement extra standalone energy methods throughout Australia,” the corporate mentioned.

Whereas the AusNet trial is a primary for Victoria, the expertise has been extensively deployed in Western Australia.

Earlier rules made it very tough to deploy SAPS within the Nationwide Electrical energy Market (NEM) however these rules have now been modified, paving the best way for a wider roll out of the NEM expertise within the jurisdictions of Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory. , Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania.