Written by Cole Latimer / The Sydney Morning Herald / 5 April 2019

Main image: The platform lets households with solar systems trade their excess energy in an online marketplace. CREDIT: JUSTIN MCMANUS

An online marketplace designed to let households trade their excess solar power has received the backing of the government renewable energy agency.

Greensync has been given $10 million by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to accelerate the deployment of its ‘deX’ energy trading system.

The deX platform allows multiple household rooftop solar systems, batteries, smart appliances and even plugged-in electric cars to be accessed by the network operator to push power back into the grid when needed, turning homes into virtual power plants.

“Studies indicate that virtual power plants could account for 700 megawatts of capacity by 2022 and consumer-owned distributed energy – rooftop solar panels and battery systems – could account for up to 45 per cent of all generation within two decades,” ARENA chief executive Darren Miller said.

Greensync said deX also acted as a marketplace, where anyone registered with solar and batteries can trade their excess power based on current electricity prices, demand and availability.

“It’s an exciting step in unlocking extra value for energy asset owners,” Greensync chief executive Phil Blythe said.

ARENA’s funding will support Greensync’s wider $32 million rollout across Australia and the world.

The deX platform has close to 100 organisation and utility partners using the software across 20 countries. It was used in South Australia by Simply Energy and South Australian Power Networks (SAPN) to run an 8-megawatt virtual power plant trial, also funded by ARENA.

This $23 million program used the solar and battery systems of about 1200 Adelaide homes to create a virtual power plant.

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