<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/sunshine-state-to-transform-solar-heavy-towns-into-bespoke-local-renewable-energy-zones/>
"A “nation-leading” plan to progressively transform Queensland’s regional grid
into a series of bespoke local renewable energy zones will kick off in the
coastal city of Caloundra with the installation of community battery storage.
The Labor Miles government said on Tuesday it would fund $40 million for the
Caloundra LREZ pilot project which will use 8.4 MW and 18.8 MWh of community
batteries to store energy from existing and additional rooftop solar systems
and share it across the local network when in night-time demand peaks.
The funding includes $3 million to optimise the size of behind the meter
customer assets including solar PV, batteries, electric vehicles, home energy
management systems and dynamic connections for the Caloundra LREZ pilot
project.
The project will also allow the benefits of renewable energy to be shared
amongst all customers on the LREZs, including renters, vulnerable customers,
those who live in apartment complexes and others who have not been able to
install solar.
Peter Price, chief engineer at state-owned distribution network company Energy
Queensland, says this and other LREZs it is planning could deliver the peaking
power equivalent to a coal plant and triple the network’s capacity to connect
residential rooftop solar.
Already, Energy Queensland has more than 5GW of solar connected to its grid,
which is more than three times the size of the largest coal generator.
Caloundra has ranked among the top-five regions for the uptake of rooftop PV.
“We have the rooftop space and the capacity within the electricity network to
do this quickly,” says Price.
“The Distribution System Operator function allows us to bring everything
together – solar PVs, the utilisation of EV chargers, behind-the-metre products
at a customer premises, network-connected batteries and tariffs for customers.
“Our L-REZ pilot projects in Caloundra and Townsville will provide invaluable
insights to how to put customers at the centre of a smart, integrated
electricity network and will pave the way to support Queensland’s energy
transition.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
