Australia’s Energy Market Operator predicts over 30 per cent of Australia’s electricity generation and flexible demand services will come from virtual power plants (VPPs). Many energy retailers are literally banking on consumers signing up to a VPP. But not everyone thinks that will happen.
VPPs are seen as one way to coordinate and manage all the small-scale, decentralised energy resources like solar panels, EVs, and home batteries, that householders are installing.
Tim Washington is the co-founder and CEO of one of Australia’s largest electric vehicle charging services, Jetcharge. He thinks many Australians won’t need to join a VPP when they have an electric vehicle with bidirectional charging. Not only will EVs be able to charge from solar, they will send energy back to the grid or into our homes.
And that he predicts will make electricity free, for many of us.
Anne Delaney is the host of the SwitchedOn podcast and our Electrification Editor, She has had a successful career in journalism (the ABC and SBS), as a documentary film maker, and as an artist and sculptor.
