Power to the People: How Businesses Can Help Balance the Grid

Imagine a future where businesses can become active participants in managing the energy grid, not just passive consumers. This is the exciting potential of demand response, and a new project is helping unlock this potential for Australian businesses.

While renewable energy sources like solar and wind are crucial for a clean energy future, they can also be variable. Demand response steps in to address this challenge. It's essentially businesses shifting their energy use to times when the grid has excess solar power or low demand, creating a more balanced and efficient system.

A recent study found that commercial buildings alone could free up enough peak power capacity to meet the needs of millions of homes simply by adjusting their energy use patterns. This translates to potential cost savings of over $1 billion annually for consumers and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Birdwood Energy, an Australian company specializing in distributed energy solutions, is leading a new project to help businesses tap into this potential. Their "Flexible Report Card Platform" will assess a business's energy profile and identify opportunities to adjust energy use for grid benefit. This could involve things like scheduling high-powered activities for off-peak hours or installing battery systems to store excess solar energy.

The project aims to create 100 "report cards" for businesses, identifying up to 5 megawatts of potential flexible load capacity. This initial trial will pave the way for wider adoption of demand response strategies.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) is also supporting another project focused on grid management. This project, led by Victorian network company United Energy, will explore ways to handle the challenge of excess solar power flooding the grid during sunny days.

The project will involve two key trials:

• Hot Water Load Control (HLWC): This trial will use smart meters to automatically adjust hot water heater operation to times with low demand and high solar production, essentially "storing" excess solar energy as hot water.

• Flexible Exports Trial: This trial will equip homes and businesses with advanced controls that allow them to export more solar power to the grid than current limits permit. This will be done intelligently, considering real-time grid conditions.