VPPs

Other NEM states to join Simply Energy’s VPP

Simply Energy’s virtual power plant (VPP) will no longer be limited to South Australia and will soon expand to all National Energy Market (NEM) states.

The expansion of the VPP follows a successful trial in South Australia funded by ARENA. ENGIE’s retail business engaged energy orchestration software company, SwitchDin, in 2019 so that the retailer could include a greater diversity of battery types in the VPP.

Ryan Wavish, general manager of Simply Energy Solutions, told Ecogeneration that in South Australia, the company’s Droplet technology was used to integrate with more battery types so that additional customers could become part of the VPP.

The retailer will now also use the software company’s cloud orchestration platform, Stormcloud, to coordinate a diverse fleet of solar inverter and battery storage units across the NEM states. By using this system, the retailer will be able to deliver energy market trading and provide frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) for devices on the VPP.

“By combining these different asset types, it means that we can start to build economies of scale, as these aggregator fleets start to play a more significant role in the market,” said Dr Andrew Mears, CEO and founder of SwitchDin.

Under the existing offer, customers receive a $240 credit each year on their electricity bill. Mr Wavish said that the company would be looking to launch a new offer in January for customers looking squeeze more value out of their solar and battery systems.

The company is also looking to include community batteries as part of the VPP’s growth.

At this stage, Mr Wavish the number of battery types that will be able to be incorporated into the VPP had not been determined. Five types were included in the SA VPP.

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