The DER Roadmap to WA’s energy future
In Western Australia, the way that we, as a State, use and generate energy is changing rapidly. More Western Australians are embracing household energy assets, also know as Distributed Energy Resources (DER), such as rooftop solar PV systems and batteries, to generate and store their own energy. In fact, more than a third of residential homes and businesses in the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) now have their own rooftop solar PV systems.
Rooftop solar systems and other household energy assets are a more renewable and efficient way of powering your home, and may result in savings on your energy costs. However, they can also pose some challenges to the State's energy system.
At Synergy, we’ve been exploring how to best meet our customers energy needs today and in the future by embracing the use of household energy assets. This includes working to deliver some of the actions outlined in the State Government’s Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap (DER Roadmap) to help ensure that the energy system remains reliable.
The DER Roadmap is designed to keep energy system costs down and ensure an increase in the use of renewable energy, reduce emissions and contribute to a renewable energy future. It is intended to allow Western Australians to continue to enjoy the benefits of solar without risking the reliability of the energy system and provide consumers with more choice.
The ultimate goal that the DER Roadmap seeks to achieve is a smooth transition into a decentralised, democratised, data-driven and low emissions energy system. We’re here to guide our customers through these innovative times, so everyone can enjoy the benefits.
What are Distributed Energy Resources?
Distributed energy resources, or ‘DER’ is an industry term that covers smaller-scale devices that use, generate, or store electricity. They are also known as household energy assets.
These include rooftop solar PV systems (also known as photovoltaic or PV systems), energy storage systems such as batteries, as well as electric vehicles. They also include micro-grids, which are small electricity networks that function independently as ‘islands’ while disconnected from the main energy system. Micro-grids could be as small as a single building, or as large as whole sections of a town.
Households and businesses can support their electricity requirements and could reduce their electricity usage costs by coordinating their energy assets and use of appliances (such as electric hot water systems, air conditioners, pool pumps, or smart appliances).
If your home has a rooftop solar PV system or a battery, then you have household energy assets, or DER.
How do household energy assets work with WA’s energy system?
WA’s energy system is supported by large gas or coal-fired generators. These generators ensure that there is a steady stream of electricity available for households to use as required – whether it’s switching on a light at night or making your morning coffee. However, these generators cannot easily be switched on and off in response to large changes in electricity demand.
Renewable energy sources, including rooftop solar systems, produce electricity alongside traditional generation sources such as large gas or coal-fired generators, but may not produce any electricity at all at night or if it’s a cloudy day.
Excess energy from rooftop solar systems, that is not consumed by your home or business, flows through to the main energy system. The energy system was designed for one-way energy flow from traditional generators to consumers. Increasingly, the energy system needs to accommodate two-way energy flow, from generation sources to consumers, and from consumers to the energy system (such as energy generated from solar systems).
In the future, it is likely that there will be significantly less reliance on the traditional power sources and more renewable generation and storage capability in the system. The purpose of the DER Roadmap is to help facilitate this transition and ensure the energy system is robust and reliable so Western Australian energy consumers benefit.
Advantages of household energy assets
There is growing interest in household battery storage and in a few neighbourhoods in WA, we have trialled community batteries. As energy storage becomes more and more common, being able to store electricity when demand is low then draw from this when demand is high may provide cost benefits to those consumers and help relieve demand surges in the energy system.
The increased uptake of household energy assets will also allow the implementation of smarter, more environmentally-friendly ways to create, distribute and store electricity. In short, household energy assets, such as rooftop solar systems, are a more renewable way of powering your home or business. They can also lead to savings on your electricity costs if you consume the solar energy as it’s produced.
It is envisaged that in the future, household energy assets will open up the potential for customers to sell or trade any excess energy they generate.
Disadvantages of household energy assets
Solar generation is great, but it’s also intermittent, which means its output can drop quickly when there is cloud cover or when the sun goes down. This is because solar panels only generate energy when the sun is shining. Although people across WA are making the most of the benefits of solar, almost everyone still needs to access electricity from the energy system at times.
Due to the way the system works, there is potential for unreliability, with the system needing to cope with the extreme changes in demand across different parts of the day. At times when demand for electricity from the grid gets extremely low, it becomes challenging to keep the energy system reliable. This fluctuation in supply and demand is often explained using a concept known as the Duck Curve. If this instability is not addressed, it could lead to blackouts.
Western Australia isn’t the only place facing these challenges, but the risks are greater due to the State's high uptake of solar and our sunny environment. Synergy is working alongside the State Government and other partners to facilitate WA’s energy transformation, guided by the DER Roadmap.
The DER Roadmap
The DER Roadmap is a set of actions that has been developed by the Western Australian Government and outlines a 5-year path to achieving an energy future where household energy assets are integral to a safe, reliable and efficient electricity system.
This plan will act as a guide to ensure that WA is addressing the opportunities and challenges related to how we produce, manage, and consume electricity. At Synergy, we’re exploring an exciting range of energy pilots and programs to provide on-going support for WA’s future energy needs.
You can read more about the DER Roadmap on the Brighter Energy Future website.
What does the DER Roadmap mean for me?
The purpose of the DER Roadmap is to allow WA to harness more renewable technology – like batteries and electric vehicles – in a way that will benefit WA households and businesses.
The DER Roadmap will assist in enabling WA to develop a smart, flexible, and integrated electricity system that:
- Keeps energy system costs down
- Reduces emissions and helps to contribute to a renewable energy future through the use of more renewable energy
- Provides the benefits of solar power without risking the reliability of the energy system
- Supports an energy system that provides Western Australian consumers with more choice
As milestones along the DER Roadmap are met, more households and neighbourhoods will rely less on the energy system and traditional generation sources - essentially becoming their own power stations. Smart tools will determine when it’s best to sell or store electricity efficiently and support a reliable energy system - even for people without any knowledge of energy trading. We can see a future where our customers will be able to generate and export excess solar energy to a community battery, as well as provide network and market services that they will be compensated for.
The Future of DER
Beyond the DER Roadmap, our future energy system is intended to be smart, flexible, integrated and powered by renewable generation sources - benefitting our customers and all Western Australians.
Find out more about WA’s intelligent energy future.
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