NSW energy distribution company, AusGrid, is gearing up for its first trial under the Australian Government’s $100 million Smart Grid, Smart City project, inviting 250 selected households in the Newcastle area to be part of the project.

 

A consortium led by Ausgrid was selected last year to conduct the three-year trial. Consortium members include IBM, Newcastle City Council, GE Energy Australia, AGL, Sydney Water and Hunter Water.

 

Under the trial, 65 homes in the Elermore Vale and South Wallsend areas will each have a mini generator installed to test the benefits of households becoming mini power stations.

 

Ausgrid’s energy efficiency expert Paul Myors said some homes were being offered gas fuel cells, while others were being asked to trial energy storage units.

 

 “Over the two-year trial we will test whether these technologies can help make the power supply more reliable, reduce peaks in energy demand and lower household electricity bills.

 

“During the first part of the trial, all power generated or stored by the units will be fed back to the electricity network to examine the technical impacts of adding these small generators to it.

 

“In the last stage of the trial residents taking part will be given the option of using the power for their own homes, which may help lower their electricity bills.”

 

Homes fitted with a Redflow 5 kilowatt energy storage unit will receive a $150 payment.

 

Those fitted with a Bluegen gas fuel cell will receive free hot water produced by the gas fuel cells, plus a free instantaneous gas hot water system, which they can keep after the trial ends. The fuel cells, produced by Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd, an Australian company, are also being used in Ausgrid’s Smart Home in Sydney’s Newington, as well as in Germany and Japan.

 

“Residents that use the units to help power their own homes when the grid trial is complete will test other benefits this technology has for the home,” Mr Myors said.

 

“For example, residents could charge the battery storage units when power prices are cheapest and then use that stored power during peak periods when prices are higher.

 

“Customers with gas fuel cells will benefit from having free hot water for the length of the trial, and will also have the option of powering their entire homes from natural gas - a cheaper energy source.”

 

Mr Myors said Elermore Vale had been chosen as the Newcastle-based trial area after technical assessments of Ausgrid’s electricity network.

 

A total of 65 homes are needed for the Elermore Vale trial, including 25 for the gas fuel cells and 40 for the battery storage units.

 

The devices will be provided and installed free of charge, and Ausgrid will cover all operating costs during the grid trial.

 

A second trial at Scone will be conducted later in the year, where about 20 homes will be fitted with Redflow energy storage units to allow them to power local streets independently, effectively forming Australia’s first micro-power grid.

 

Overall, the three-year project runs across five sites in Sydney and the Hunter Valley (Newcastle, Scone, Sydney CBD, Ku-ring-gai and Newington). It will represent Australia’s first commercial-scale smart grid. It also is one of the largest and most integrated smart grid projects anywhere in the world.

 

More information is  here.