“Less pilots and more deployment – somewhere, someone around the world has probably already done what you need. Find it, adapt it, and get on with it.”
Electricity Networks Aotearoa, 2024
Current Challenges: Understanding the Background of New Zealand and Australia’s Power Grids
New Zealand and Australia are making significant strides in integrating distributed energy resources (DER), such as rooftop solar panels, battery storage systems, and electric vehicles. These technologies empower consumers to generate, store, and manage their own electricity, driving a shift towards more sustainable and resilient energy systems.
However, these advancements come with their own set of challenges. Both New Zealand and Australia face complexities in their electricity distribution networks, which must navigate diverse geographical landscapes and varying population densities.
As these countries continue to innovate and adapt their electricity distribution networks, entities specializing in energy solutions play a crucial role. In the following sections, we will explore the innovations underway in Australia and New Zealand, along with the regulatory support in both countries and the technical pre-requisites.
From Challenges to Solutions: New Zealand and Australia’s Grid Strategies
Australia leads globally in terms of solar PV penetration, with the highest per capita rooftop solar installations, exceeding 1.1 kW. This achievement, however, presents complications, notably the challenge to export surplus energy due to power quality and capacity constraints. To tackle these issues, Australia has championed grid management solutions, leading the way in innovative approaches through initiatives like Dynamic Operating Envelopes (DOEs).
DOEs establish real-time limits on electricity import and export across the network, crucial for stabilizing the grid amidst high solar uptake.
In terms of transportation, Australia’s urbanization trends have amplified reliance on public electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, particularly in cities lacking off-street parking. This is not the case in New Zealand, placing it ahead in EV adoption with a 20% market share compared to Australia’s 9.5%. EVs can introduce grid congestion challenges when not orchestrated and potential opportunities if their flexibility is well-managed. This is leading to the appearance of solutions for managing multiple EV charging aggregators under a Distribution System Operator (DSO) model.
These two solutions have a common denominator to be fulfilled first: grid visibility. Limited low voltage visibility remains an issue in both countries, hindering the ability of grid operators to effectively monitor and manage distributed energy. Without comprehensive visibility into low voltage, it becomes challenging to dynamically adjust operating envelopes and coordinate the charging and discharging of EVs in real-time. This lack of visibility can lead to voltage fluctuations, grid instability, and potential safety hazards. To address these challenges, investments in advanced metering infrastructure and real-time monitoring systems are essential. These technologies will provide the granular data needed to ensure that DOEs and EV aggregators can be managed efficiently and safely, ultimately supporting a more resilient and flexible grid.
Regulatory Support Towards DOEs and LV Monitoring in Australia and New Zealand
As both countries navigate these dynamic energy landscapes, innovative solutions need to go hand in hand with regulatory support for achieving sustainable and resilient energy futures.
While DOEs were developed in specific pilot projects in Australia, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is taking a step forward, setting a new regulatory draft regarding flexible exports limits. Flexible Exports should be offered on an opt-in basis. However, they are already mandatory for new connections in many parts of South Australia.
AER supports moving towards a nationally consistent communication protocol, with consumers opting into flexible export arrangements complying with interoperability standard IEEE 2030.5 and the Common Smart Inverter Profile – Australia (CSIP-Aus)
On the other side of the Tasman Sea, several DSOs have recognized the OPEX investment in LV monitoring and SaaS as an urgent need. Due to this, The New Zealand Commerce Commission has presented a draft with permitted OPEX expenditures in these categories for the following regulatory period (2025-2030).
Plexigrid’s tools Ari, Tatari, and Tia play a crucial role in this transition, offering LV monitoring, advanced analytics and optimization capabilities to enhance grid efficiency, reduce losses, and improve overall flexibility management. Let’s dive deeper into each solution.
