ENGIE and SA Power Networks are collaborating on a 12-month trial looking at different ways to manage the periodic oversupply of rooftop solar energy.
SA Power Networks’ Market Active Solar Trial seeks to further develop the utility’s approach to integrating rooftop solar with the grid, with innovative new retail offers that reward customers for enabling their solar to be responsive to wholesale energy market pricing.
ENGIE General Manager for Innovation, Ryan Wavish, said customers who have opted in to the trial offer allow ENGIE to adjust the amount of energy exported to the grid from their rooftop solar panels when there is too much supply, and prices are negative.
“Importantly, these customers are compensated for doing so,” he said.
“It is a win-win situation. As an electricity retailer, this means ENGIE is not double paying for both customer solar feed in tariffs (FiTs) and also the cost of exporting power into a negative market when there is too much rooftop solar generation.”
Mr Wavish said at the same time, ENGIE customers are compensated more than they would have earned for exporting their excess solar power through solar feed-in tariffs.
The project received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of its Advancing Renewables Program, and Mr Wavish said it’s going really well.
“Our customers are loving it, and we’ve had more than 40 customers opt-in so far.
“We were originally set a limit of 50 participants this year, but due to the popularity of the trial offer, ENGIE has recently been able to increase that limit to 100 households in South Australia.”
“There has been a lot of discussion about the possibility of a solar tax – or households being charged for exporting their excess rooftop solar during periods of oversupply – but we are flipping this for customers,” he said.
Mr Wavish said the trial is proof that retailers like ENGIE can help customers earn money from their solar curtailment.
“This also means another win-win between the customer and the network as market led curtailment relieves congestion on the local grid and reduces the need for costly upgrades.”
