All the distribution sites which may 'benefit' from a battery should be disclosed and put up for tender. Commercial parties then should get to bid on this.
DNSPs will need to be upfront about the tarriff structure and operation limitations (such that it gives them planning certainty the battery isn't going to cause them headaches).
Community batteries and virtual storage are related but not the same thing - you can do one without doing the other. A virtual storage service could be provided to customers without building anything at all (provided they have a smart meter to run the calculations).
"Will PowerBank save me money? It depends on your situation. If you were looking to install an in-home battery, yes. This solution is approximately 30% cheaper than buying and installing your own battery. It may even save you money on your overall power bill Synergy manages all billing for our residential customers."
The key contribution of virtual storage seems to be to show how non-commercial 'self-consumption' solar-batteries are for most people. Virtual storage is a contract for differences - there are no physics involved as you say - but seeing as households are already protected (a year at a time) from the wholesale energy market, from changes in the prices of renewable certificates, and seeing as network charges only change annually, precisely what is being hedged isn't clear (assuming the virtual storage subscription fee moves on the same time scale). Its main effect seems to be to discourage people from installing home batteries.
Thanks Nick! I agree - the long term model with batteries that you use to sell a service is to lease out small proportions. If that's what your doing, it probably has to be integrated into a retail product where there is a dynamic price signal. Otherwise, households are speculating on the costs of renting some capacity vs. the battery revenue.
Also, for energy users today, you get the majority of the physical benefits of storage just by being connected to the grid. You can send out power and receive it when you need it.
Fantastic article Declan, I'd love to be a fly on the wall while you chat through your concerns with Marc England.........
Ha!
I didn't reach out to Marc. If we do somehow end up discussing this, I'll be sure to bring you along Nick
Great article!
All the distribution sites which may 'benefit' from a battery should be disclosed and put up for tender. Commercial parties then should get to bid on this.
DNSPs will need to be upfront about the tarriff structure and operation limitations (such that it gives them planning certainty the battery isn't going to cause them headaches).
Thanks ArchieBoi!
Community batteries and virtual storage are related but not the same thing - you can do one without doing the other. A virtual storage service could be provided to customers without building anything at all (provided they have a smart meter to run the calculations).
Western Power in their FAQ suggests there's a good chance you won't save money using their $1.20/day Powerbank virtual storage service: https://www.westernpower.com.au/faqs/community-batteries/powerbanks/
"Will PowerBank save me money? It depends on your situation. If you were looking to install an in-home battery, yes. This solution is approximately 30% cheaper than buying and installing your own battery. It may even save you money on your overall power bill Synergy manages all billing for our residential customers."
The key contribution of virtual storage seems to be to show how non-commercial 'self-consumption' solar-batteries are for most people. Virtual storage is a contract for differences - there are no physics involved as you say - but seeing as households are already protected (a year at a time) from the wholesale energy market, from changes in the prices of renewable certificates, and seeing as network charges only change annually, precisely what is being hedged isn't clear (assuming the virtual storage subscription fee moves on the same time scale). Its main effect seems to be to discourage people from installing home batteries.
Thanks Nick! I agree - the long term model with batteries that you use to sell a service is to lease out small proportions. If that's what your doing, it probably has to be integrated into a retail product where there is a dynamic price signal. Otherwise, households are speculating on the costs of renting some capacity vs. the battery revenue.
Also, for energy users today, you get the majority of the physical benefits of storage just by being connected to the grid. You can send out power and receive it when you need it.
I assume you've also had time to digest this report from Orkestra to the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance?
https://www.cvga.org.au/uploads/9/8/3/8/9838558/220913_orkestra_cvga_nbi_final_report_v1.2.pdf
Hey Joel - you would think so considering I wrote a whole blog on the topic, but somehow I missed it! Thanks for sharing though, I'll take a look