Let’s hope one day schemes like this get to the UK
Energy provider Ergon Retail is running a trial, with support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), in 33 Queensland homes in Toowoomba in the south of the state and Townsville and Cannonvale in the north.
In recent months, about 30 country householders have joined a pilot project that provides a glimpse of the future of our energy grid.
For no up-front cost, these homes will get a state-of-the-art rooftop solar and battery system installed in their homes.
Tesla Motors plans to bring its new batteries in 2016 to Australia, which will join Germany as the company’s first two markets outside the US (Image: Reuters)
Participants will pay a monthly fee to use the battery system, with their electricity bills expected to be significantly reduced because about 75 per cent of their power will be generated by the sun. Their shiny new cabinet-sized battery will allow them to store some of the energy from their solar panels that they then use during peak times – usually in the early evening.
For its part, Ergon will be able to remotely control and monitor these home batteries, and feed power back into the grid when the network is being stretched. The company talks about these in-home batteries as “virtual power plants” that will act to smooth out demand and strengthen the network.
Read more: World Energy News