The post Smart meters haven’t delivered promised benefits to electricity users. We can do better appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>Billions of dollars are being spent worldwide to modernise electricity grids with smart meters. These meters promise to save households money by making it easier for us to understand and manage our energy use. However, our new research suggests these promises might not be fully delivered due to a lack of access to high-resolution, real-time energy data.
Smart meters are the enabling technology of modern smart electricity grids. Smart grids can use digital technology to fine-tune the management of electricity supply and demand. This ensures the grid can deliver low-cost and reliable power.
Countries like Australia are racing to install smart meters extensively. Last year the Australian Energy Market Commission recommended a goal of 100% uptake among small customers by 2030. In response, an Australian Energy Council article suggested these meters aren’t living up to their potential.
This isn’t just an Australian problem – it’s a global challenge. Our research offers a solution to unleash the promised benefits of smart meters at least cost. From improving data transmission to protecting our privacy, there’s a lot we can do to make our energy systems smarter and fairer for everyone.
Our demand for electricity is set to soar as the push to electrify everything gains momentum. The Victorian government, for instance, has banned gas in new homes from 2024.
The International Energy Agency forecasts a 3.4% annual rise in electricity consumption from 2024 to 2026. As transportation electrifies, electricity’s share could increase from 1% in 2018 to 49% by 2050.
To meet this growing demand while cutting carbon emissions, we must ramp up renewable energy production. However, the unpredictable nature of wind and solar power presents challenges for the grid.
To manage highly variable supply and demand, we need to digitise our grid. Advanced technologies such as sensors, machine-learning algorithms and cloud computing will enable us to optimise electricity generation, distribution and consumption.
Smart meters are the cornerstone of such a system. They can provide the detailed, real-time data needed for smart grid applications.
Smart meter deployment has surged globally. The smart meter market is forecast to grow from US$17.5 billion ($A26.6 billion) in 2024 to US$31.8 billion by 2028.
Our research sheds light on this global deployment and its significant challenges.
Grid modernisation and smart meters came with big promises of saving money for consumers. This hasn’t happened. The reason is that many direct benefits to consumers require high-resolution data – and the required level of fine detail in real time isn’t being provided.
For example, as a direct benefit to consumers, some machine-learning techniques can help households optimise their energy use by providing insights into exactly how much electricity each appliance is using and when. This information could enable them to lower their electricity bill. These tools can also detect abnormal usage patterns, allowing timely intervention and maintenance of faulty appliances.
However, these applications and other smart grid benefits for consumers all require high-resolution data.
We found three major reasons for the current limitations of smart-metering infrastructure.
Data transmission is the first big challenge. High-resolution and more frequent data means a higher volume of numbers, which leads to more delays or disruptions to data transmission.
The second challenge is the data warehousing needed for huge volumes of data. It’s expensive too.
Building and running a data warehouse costs US$19,000–$25,000 per terabyte each year. Upgrading from hourly data to every two seconds requires 1,800 times the storage, at an extra cost of US$36 million! And that’s not counting maintenance, backups, or sharing the data.
The third major issue is data privacy. The data can also be exploited by attackers. They could figure out what appliances you have, your home setup, or even your habits.
This can lead to criminal activities or serious invasion of privacy. For example, people could be tracked based on their vehicle-charging patterns.
Even law enforcement uses electricity data in court cases. One case involved the detection of indoor marijuana growing.
Ideally, we need a solution that tackles all the issues using the smart meters we already have. Our solution is based on discovering repeated patterns within electricity usage data, then dividing these data into two parts.
It’s like a book divided into piles of papers and page numbers, with each then handed to different parties. Neither the page alone nor the page numbers make sense until they are combined.
Similarly, we suggest dividing detailed data into smaller patterns called codewords and their daily representations. We’d send only representations to the data centre, letting users keep their codewords to ensure their privacy.
Patterns of energy use often repeat. By using a single codeword to represent multiple days of similar consumption, we can greatly reduce the amount of data that needs to be transmitted. This would cut data communication and warehousing costs.
Continuous research on software, hardware and regulations is needed to refine the proposed framework for the stages of data collection, transmission, storage and analysis.
It’s important for modern energy consumers to be aware that as well as consuming and generating energy (from rooftop solar systems), they also generate data through their smart meters. This data asset is becoming increasingly valuable in the transition to the net-zero era.
Ali Pourmousavi Kani, Senior Lecturer of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide and Rui Yuan, Industry PhD Candidate, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The post Smart meters haven’t delivered promised benefits to electricity users. We can do better appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The post Solar Insiders Podcast: Heat pump demand red hot, batteries just warming up appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>Solar Victoria CEO Stan Krpan talks rebate milestones, red hot heat pump demand and home battery uptake. Plus rooftop solar crackdowns and a battery business in trouble.
You can find previous episodes of the Solar Insiders podcast here or on your favourite podcast platform.
The post Solar Insiders Podcast: Heat pump demand red hot, batteries just warming up appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The post Universal smart meter rules put on fast-track in race to harness consumer resources appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The push for universal smart meter uptake by 2030 is being fast-tracked by the Australian Energy Market Commission, with a draft determination on how to make this happen now expected to be published within weeks by the market rule maker.
In a “notice for initiation” issued on Wednesday, the AEMC said it had decided to use the fast-track process following a September 2024 rule change request from SA Power Networks, Intellihub and Alinta to speed up smart meter deployment.
The move to hurry things along follows the August 2024 release of the final report on the AEMC’s review of the Regulatory Framework for Metering Services, in which it recommended a program to install smart meters at all homes and small businesses in the National Electricity Market (NEM) by 2030.
The AEMC concluded that the NEM-wide rollout of smart meters will be crucial to bed down the “digital foundation” of Australia’s modern renewable grid – and the sooner the better as households turn to solar, home batteries and all-electric appliances and transport.
But speeding things up can take a long time in the world of energy market reform.
The AEMC first made the call for a 2030 target for universal uptake in November of 2022, following publication of the first draft of its lengthy and long-running review.
Almost a year later, after consultation with industry and stakeholders and feedback from the public, it pledged to work with energy advocacy bodies on next steps in the rule change process to make it happen.
A month later, the AEMC received the rule change request that is required for it to proceed from the South Australia transmission company SA Power Networks, smart meter outfit Intellihub and utility, Alinta.
“The AEMC has decided to use the fast-track rule change process,” the rule maker said on Thursday, noting that the request from the three companies was consistent with the recommendations from its own review, and that “extensive consultation with the public” had already been undertaken.
“Stakeholders will have a further opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed rule change once our draft rule determination is published, expected in early April,” the AEMC said.
Smart meters, typically installed by consumers as a requirement for installing rooftop solar, provide real-time data on a household’s electricity usage, but are increasingly valuable as a digital two-way communication line between households and the grid.
Australia has relatively low uptake of smart meters at around 30%, despite reforms in 2017 by the AEMC to try and increase numbers.
The only state to buck this trend is Victoria, where the government implemented a blanket rollout in 2006. But the rollout was poorly executed, and did not encourage access to the data, leading to consumers missing out on the benefits. The experience in Victoria was also a bit of a failure on costs.
As One Step Off The Grid reported, the AEMC’s review found that a rapid, well coordinated rollout of smart meters could provide net benefits to the value of $507 million for all of the regions of the NEM.
This money would come from savings through reduced costs for meter reading, reduced installation costs due to the scale of the rollout, and through simplified grid maintenance and fault and load management.
For consumers, benefits might include better access to the latest innovations in energy efficiency, energy management, eMobility, demand-side flexibility services, and solar and battery optimisation.
“Smart meters can collect more granular data about the condition and capacity of the lower voltage network, which can be used to maximise CER hosting capacity and minimise the need for future network upgrades,” the report said.
“A high take-up of smart meters will enable innovation in energy markets and in converging sectors such as electric vehicles (EVs).”
While the AEMC’s draft rule determination is still to come, in its final report on the review the AEMC proposed to require distribution network service providers (DNSPs) to develop an annual schedule to retire legacy accumulation and manually read meters.
The plan would need to be developed by DNSPs in consultation with key stakeholders following set requirements, and be checked over by the market regulator, the AER.
Retailers would then be responsible for installing smart meters at these sites over the five-year acceleration period. Retailers would also need to report their annual performance on meter replacements.
The post Universal smart meter rules put on fast-track in race to harness consumer resources appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The post Neighbourhood battery roll out seeks to soak up solar in the regions appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>A raft of regional towns will host dozens of big batteries as Victoria pushes to reach bold storage targets.
Among 20 towns set to welcome 25 neighbourhood batteries are Phillip Island, Queenscliff, Wodonga, Yackandandah, Tatura and Wangaratta.
The Victorian government has set aside $6 million for six battery projects, expected to deliver more than 4.2 megawatt hours of storage capacity.
Popular tourist town Phillip Island will have seven batteries installed, while four will established at Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Another 10 batteries will be spread across the state’s east and northeast, totalling 850 kilowatt hours of storage.
“We’re making Victoria the home of batteries,” Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said.
Before the last election, then-premier Daniel Andrews promised $42 million to install 100 neighbourhood batteries across the state within the next term if Labor was returned to government.
Last week, Victoria’s upper house passed a bill to legislate energy storage targets for at least 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of energy storage capacity by 2030 and at least 6.3GW by 2035.
The legislation also set a target for the state to reach 95 per cent renewable energy generation by 2035.
Source: AAP
The post Neighbourhood battery roll out seeks to soak up solar in the regions appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The post Heat pump rebates in “huge demand” as households get rid of gas hot water appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>Applications to Victoria’s hot water upgrade scheme are coming in at a rate of 700 a week, prompting the state government to add a further 8,000 rebates to cater to the “huge demand.”
Victoria’s Labor government, which from January this year has intoruduced a ban on gas connections in new homes and government businesses, says the offer of $1,000 off the cost of installing a heat pump hot water system is being snapped up at a record rate across the state.
Victorian energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio says there has been 16,132 applications for the rebate so far this financial year – already marking a 224 per cent increase on the financial previous year.
To meet the booming demand, D’Ambrosio announced an expansion of the program, with 8,000 additional rebates on offer.
“Heat pump hot water systems have never been more popular – with more than 700 Victorians applying for the hot water rebate every week and 20,000 systems installed to date,” a statement said on Wednesday.
Solar Victoria, which runs the Solar Homes rebate scheme for the government, says installing a heat pump hot water system can save a household up to $400 a year on energy bills and when combined with rooftop solar, savings can be up to $1,400 a year.
The organisation says uptake of the hot water rebate has been particularly high in the City of Casey, in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne with 1193 households taking up the offer. It has also been popular in the outer south-west, with 968 households in Wyndham applying, and in Greater Geelong with 975 households.
“These residents join more than 350,000 Victorian households who have received a rebate or loan to take up rooftop solar, home batteries, heat pump hot water systems, and other energy efficient appliances since 2018,” Solar Victoria says.
D’Ambrosio says the Allan government is also offering free training to upskill plumbers through an $11 million workforce development program, as part of efforts to meet demand for new electric hot water systems..
“More Victorians than ever before are taking advantage of our rebates and switching to efficient electric technology – saving thousands of dollars and driving down emissions,” the minister said this week.
“We’re helping more Victorians save on the upfront cost of installation of heat pump or solar hot water systems and slash their energy bills every year after.”
The post Heat pump rebates in “huge demand” as households get rid of gas hot water appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The post Administrators look for answers, and buyers, as Australian home battery outfit fights to survive appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>Australian battery and smart inverter company Redback Technologies is in voluntary administration and fighting for survival, just days after showcasing a new battery system at the Smart Energy Conference in Sydney.
Administrators said on Monday they would work with Redback Operations employees, customers and suppliers to continue to trade the business while working to find a way forward in the longer-term.
To this end, McGrathNicol partners Anthony Connelly, Mark Holland and Jamie Harris say they are seeking expressions of interest for the Brisbane-based company’s sale or recapitalisation.
An investigation in to what, exactly, has landed Redback in administration will also be undertaken.
“[We] are required to investigate the circumstances that have led to the appointment and will report to creditors the results of that work,” the administrators said in an emailed statement on Monday.
“[We] have retained all company personnel and are continuing its business operations while a transaction is sought… This includes responding to customer enquiries as they arise.”
Founded in 2015, Redback has been an active player in Australia’s renewable energy industry, including just last week at the Smart Energy Conference in Sydney, where it had a stand promoting its new Hybrid Battery System.
The new product, first unveiled at last years All Energy Australia conference in Melbourne, was due to be launched in the second half of this year, with shipments due to arrive in Australia in June.
Less than six months ago, Redback announced it had cut prices across its range of batteries, offering discounts of between $500 and $1000 on retail costs.
Redback’s head of partnerships and training Aaron Moreton said at the time that discounts were being made “in the hopes that the lower costs make sustainable power solutions more accessible to homeowners.”
Some of the company’s home batteries were also embroiled in an ACCC safety recall – which is still active – of some models of LG batteries believed to pose a fire risk.
As Redback explains here, the majority of its energy storage systems use Pylontech batteries, but a small number of LG batteries were used in early model (installed prior to 2020) Redback Smart Hybrids (SH4600/SH5000).
A first meeting of the creditors of the company is scheduled for March 15. Enquiries about the sale process should be directed to redback@mcgrathnicol.com.
The post Administrators look for answers, and buyers, as Australian home battery outfit fights to survive appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The post Supercharged solar-for-renters scheme back on political agenda appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>Renters could get cost-of-living relief through a revamped solar scheme if the Queensland opposition is elected.
Liberal National Party leader David Crisafulli says a solar-for-renters plan first trialled back in 2019 will be rebooted if the party wins the October poll.
Mr Crisafulli made the promise in a cost-of-living debate with Premier Steven Miles on Tuesday, taking questions from 12 audience members selected by the Queensland Council of Social Service.
The opposition leader said he would provide short-term cost-of-living relief via the supercharged solar-for-renters scheme, with full details to be outlined during a budget reply speech later in 2024.
The program is expected to save the average rental household more than $700 annually on power bills with grants of up to $3500 provided for the installation of solar panels on rental homes.
“What I liked when I listened to both Solar Citizens but also people involved in the trial, this was a good program and it shouldn’t have stopped at that point,” Mr Crisafulli told The Courier-Mail forum.
“I want it not just to be a sugar hit. I want it to be throughout the forwards (estimates).
“It’ll be a four-year program and it has to be focused on making sure there’s a partnership between the landlord and the tenant, the tenant has to be asked to receive a benefit – that’s a non-negotiable for me.”
The move has been backed by the Queensland Conservation Council which called on the government to match the scheme.
“This is a smart policy initiative that will provide vital cost-of-living relief for renting Queenslanders while generating clean energy and slashing emissions,” campaigner Stephanie Gray said.
Deputy Premier Cameron Dick said the announcement was now a budget black hole Mr Crisafulli had to fill.
He says the LNP still doesn’t support progressive coal royalties.
Coal royalties have been the backbone of the state’s post-pandemic economy and are expected to boost revenue by $9.4 billion across the first five years according to the mid-year budget review handed down in December.
Since being adopted in July 2022, additional royalty revenue from coal has pumped about $5.8 billion into the economy.
Mr Dick expected the total price of the LNP plan to be more than $1.2 billion if the grants were $2500, not the $3500 proposed.
Mr Miles said the trial was stopped because it was assessed that Queenslanders could be better supported through rebates on their power bills, “rather than to give thousands of dollars to their landlords”.
Mr Dick also said the LNP had attempted to protect big supermarkets after the state government established its first pricing select committee.
Bundaberg MP Tom Smith will chair the committee, which will examine soaring supermarket prices, with a report due on May 21.
The premier implied at the debate his political opponents had tried to water down the inquiry by attempting to include other cost-of-living factors.
“I wanted it to be absolutely focused on food prices, farmgate prices and supermarkets,” Mr Miles said.
“We have a separate committee called the cost-of-living committee that can deal with all of those other issues, but I saw no good argument for diluting the focus on supermarkets.”
AAP
The post Supercharged solar-for-renters scheme back on political agenda appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The post From gravel pit to solar farm: Pioneering community project nears completion appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>It’s been a long journey, but after 10 years of grit, determination and collaboration, construction is underway on one of Australia’s pioneering community renewables projects, the Goulburn Community Solar Farm in New South Wales.
First conceived back in 2014 by local residents under the Goulburn Community Energy Co-operative formed by Community Energy 4 Goulburn (CE4G), the 1.35MW solar farm is being built alongside a 2.2MWh battery in the NSW Southern Tablelands.
As CE4G president Peter Fraser put it in 2020, the many hundreds of locals who collectively raised $2.6 million for the project “demonstrated a strong regional appetite for renewable energy and ethical investments,” despite being in the federal electorate of noted LNP renewables opponent and then federal energy minister Angus Taylor.
CE4G secured a contract with local outfit Komo Energy for development services of the solar farm in August 2019, and in March 2020, won a $2.1 million grant from the state government to add battery storage.
Also in 2020, CE4G’s dedication to sustainability and ethical development led them to cut ties with the project’s inverter supplier, Siemens, over the companty’s support of the massive Adani coal mine in Queensland.
Four years later, and with Smart Commercial Solar on board, the solar farm is underway.
Notably, it will be the world’s first project to use a full suite of Trina Solar products, including Vertex N bifacial modules, TrinaTracker Fix Origin fixed-tilt racking, and the China-based company’s new Elementa battery energy storage system – its first deployment in Australia.
“The Goulburn Solar farm is significant because it’s a solar farm started by local local investors and also it’s the first project in Australia to combine our module energy storage and tracker [technology],” says Edison Zhou, Trina Solar head of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
“As solar projects become increasingly complex, having a single procurement source helps to streamline processes, allowing for faster delivery, and unified after-sales service. This approach not only reduces costs but also ensures efficiency.”
And yet, aside from the decision to build a community solar farm, not much about this project has been easy.
In fact, in sharp contrast to the claims from Australia’s political far right of a “reckless” roll out of poorly regulated renewables developments, the approvals process for the small, community-owned project has been grueling.
“Smart [Commercial Solar] became involved in sort of mid-2020, bidding on the work, and then we’ve worked very closely [Komo and CE4G] since then,” James Duckworth told One Step Off The Grid in Sydney on Tuesday.
“We had to get a lot of approvals for this project. It was one of those sites that the community were able to get hold of quite well, but Council approvals are extremely difficult.
“It’s in a catchment area, so the mitigation of any runoff causing turbidity in the water was really, really high. There was some landfill issues on the site that had to be investigated. So yeah, the planning and commissions took a lot longer than anyone could have originally considered.
Smart Commercial Solar says the site chosen for the solar farm was not agricultural land but a former gravel washing pit that was sold to CE4G by a local earth-moving company.
“Which is ironic,” Duckworth adds, “since we had so many runoff issues.”
But after an “enormous amount” of water and land management, civil works are underway at the Goulburn site and Smart Commercial Solar expects to break ground on the solar element in mid-April, bringing to life the community’s long-held vision of generating their own renewable power.
“They are particularly concerned about trying to mitigate climate change as a community,” Duckworth said this week.
“And they benefit from the fact that they’re going to be able to offer power [solar] purchase deals.
“No one has to participate in the [project]… but people will be given the opportunity to buy from a retailer at a discounted rate the solar the farm will be feeding to the grid.”
The post From gravel pit to solar farm: Pioneering community project nears completion appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The post Regulator bans second rooftop solar installer from rebate scheme appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>A rooftop solar installer has been banned from access to Australia’s rooftop solar rebate for a year after failing to meet strict accreditation requirements of attending installations.
The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) says Keng Chew provided false written statements claiming he was the accredited installer or supervisor onsite for 12 solar installations between August 15, 2022, and June 06.
As a result, Chew has been declared ineligible under the federal Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme for a period of 12 months, marking the second time in just two months the CER has opted to disqualify an installer.
In February, the CER barred Clean Energy Council (CEC) accredited installer David Coulthard from installing solar systems under the SRES, also for 12 months.
As the regulator noted at the time, it was the first time it had exercised its additional powers to disqualify an installer since amendments to the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 came into force.
The major tightening of the rules around the retail and installation of rooftop solar systems in Australia – aimed at weeding out shonky operators and poorly installed or unsafe systems – was announced in late 2021, following a major industry review.
One of the key rule changes requires CEC accredited installers to be at the site of a rooftop solar job during setup, installation and commissioning – and to provide evidence of compliance by way of “selfie photographs.”
Essentially, the rule aims to ensure that the person ultimately responsible for the safety and quality of the installation is on site when needed and not, say, in another country – as was the case with this Canberra installer, who was caught out, fined and stripped of accreditation in 2022.
“The attendance of an accredited installer when the work is being done matters for quality and safety,” said CER general manager of compliance Piet Powell in a statement on Thursday.
“The rooftop solar sector has had enough time and enough notice on the requirements they need to meet.
“We won’t tolerate those who are unwilling to do the right thing,” Powell said.
The post Regulator bans second rooftop solar installer from rebate scheme appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>The post Rooftop solar “compliance blitz” targets installer short cuts, safety breaches appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>New South Wales rooftop solar installers are on notice against taking short-cuts on safety, with the launch of a new “compliance blitz” across the state.
SafeWork NSW announced on Thursday that inspectors would be out in force, checking that installers are following the letter of the law on safety when putting PV systems on rooftops.
The new blitz follows up on data collected during the previous blitz, in 2022, that revealed a high level of non-compliance with safe work practices.
In 2022, SafeWork says random visits to 86 installation sites resulted in 403 notices being issued and fines totalling $216,864. Most notices issued concerned the risk of falls from heights, followed by falling object and electrical risk.
According to the 2022 report, 54% of sites did not have adequate fall protections in place, 64% of workers wearing harnesses were not properly connected to the harness system and 61% of sites did not have a plan or diagram showing the rooftop and system layout.
“Following concerning results from previous compliance programs, SafeWork NSW Inspectors will be out in the community targeting the safety duties of retailers and installers of rooftop solar,” says head of SafeWork NSW Trent Curtin.
“Inspectors often find those in the solar industry taking short-cuts and endangering the lives of workers by not having adequate safety measures in place.
“We will be taking a zero-tolerance approach and those caught will be fined and potentially prosecuted.”
Rooftop solar retailers and installers found to not be meeting their legislative requirements could face a fine of up to $3,600, Curtin says.
“Falls from heights remain the number one cause of fatalities on building sites in NSW and SafeWork NSW is committed to bringing these concerning numbers down in 2024.
“Last year, preventing falls from heights was a regulatory priority for SafeWork NSW and this year we will continue to prioritise the safety of workers, especially those involved in the installation of solar panels.”
The post Rooftop solar “compliance blitz” targets installer short cuts, safety breaches appeared first on One Step Off The Grid.
]]>