The Australian government will provide A$3.3 million (US$2.5m) in funding for a trial combination of rooftop solar photovoltaic with battery storage at a new housing development In Perth, western Australia.
The funding from the government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency is for electricity provider Synergy and will be for a new housing development in Alkimos Beach. Arena CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the model being trialled included new tariff options for consumers and had the potential to be replicated in future residential developments across Australia.
The project will provide new information about how to deliver value from solar PV for consumers, land developers, electricity retailers and network operators with enabling technologies. Frischknecht said residential electricity storage would allow network operators to manage demand more effectively by delivering stored power into the grid at peak times.
“The trial will involve combining 1.1 megawatt-hour of centralised lithium ion battery storage with more than 100 rooftop solar PV systems,” Frischknecht said. “Cost effective energy storage will become increasingly important in the quest to include more renewables in our electricity grids.”
Synergy will deliver the project in partnership with Alkimos Beach development partners Lend Lease and Landcorp both of whom are property construction, planning and infrastructure companies.