The Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning’s Solar Victoria has launched a pilot program aiming to deliver the benefits of household solar to more Victorians.
Minister for Solar Homes, Lily D’Ambrosio said the pilot would create local networks of houses with solar panels and batteries, and bundle together the excess energy stored in their solar batteries so it could be used by the grid when it was needed.
Ms D’Ambrosio called on energy companies with expertise in aggregation and battery power to be a part of the pilot.
“Aggregating the power from household-scale batteries and selling it back into the grid when demand is highest would offer benefits to all consumers – offering the households involved an additional revenue stream and boosting the reliability of the grid for everyone else,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
“Government is encouraging applications that focus on consumer benefits and protections, innovation in energy management and market solutions, and which represent value for Victorian customers and the broader community,” she said.
“Solar Victoria will ensure a fair approach to current and prospective providers and ensure all approved aggregators have strong consumer protections to minimise confusion and increase consumer confidence in battery aggregation.”
Ms D’Ambrosio said that to complement the program, Solar Victoria was developing a dedicated consumer literacy program to demystify batteries and aggregation, and highlight the benefits for householders and the grid.
Further information on Solar Victoria’s pilot program, including how to apply can be accessed at this PS News link.
