Virtual Power plant

Virtual Power plant

Virtual Power Plants made the news last week when the South Australian Government announced that it was set to create the world’s largest virtual power plant. The plan is to provide up to 50,000 households with solar panels and a storage battery. The power generated by the households would not be used directly by those households; instead, it would be fed back into the grid, having the same effect as building a new a 250-megawatt power plant. This is 2.5 times the power of the Tesla Neoen big battery commissioned at Hornsdale in SA last year.  As a pay-back for ‘hosting’ the solar panels and batteries, householders would expect to receive a 30% discount on their electricity bills.

The plan will begin with a trial involving the installation of solar panels and Tesla batteries into 1,100 Housing Trust homes in Adelaide.

A smaller virtual power plant began its trial in Canberra late last year with 250 households participating.

The official plan for the SA virtual power plant is here. It includes a short explanatory animation.

Related news:  Big batteries for Victoria and the Northern Territory