Energy Minister Bill Johnston today released a report showing the major milestones achieved a year into WA's implementation of the Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Roadmap.
DER, which includes small-scale rooftop solar panel systems, batteries and electric vehicles, have been taken up by households and businesses at unprecedented rates.
Western Australians added a record 300 megawatts (MW) of small-scale solar in 2020 - nearly the equivalent of the State's largest coal-fired generator - the 340MW Collie power station.
The rapid uptake of these technologies is transforming our electricity system, presenting challenges and opportunities for how we produce, manage and consume energy.
The roadmap, developed under the McGowan Government's Energy Transformation Strategy, outlines the actions we must take over the next five years to meet these challenges. Implementation is on track, with highlights over the past year including:
- installing a further 10 PowerBanks to enable more customers to take part in community battery storage while supporting Western Power's network;
- commencing a time-of-use tariff pilot to encourage greater energy consumption in the middle of the day, when solar energy is most plentiful; and
- progressing Project Symphony, which will test the co-ordination of large quantities of customer solar panels, batteries and large appliances so that they act as a virtual power plant and provide services to the power system.
Energy Policy WA, Western Power, Synergy, Horizon Power and the Australian Energy Market Operator are all working together to implement the roadmap.
In addition to the roadmap, the McGowan Government is committing $218 million to provide more than 1,000 standalone power systems in regional WA and a $57.4 million investment into renewable technology as part of the WA Recovery Plan.
As stated by Energy Minister Bill Johnston:
"The Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap is a key element of the McGowan Government's Energy Transformation Strategy, which will ensure our power system is ready for the growing uptake of renewable energy.
"Congratulations to the Energy Transformation Taskforce team and its Chair Stephen Edwell for the major milestones achieved in its first year - we will continue to ensure its implementation remains on-track.
"The McGowan Government is commited to progressing our State towards a cleaner, greener energy future and ensuring renewable energy sources are supported by our grid."
As stated by Energy Transformation Taskforce Chair Stephen Edwell:
"The energy transformation in Western Australia is continuing at a rapid rate, with 2020 being a record year for the uptake of rooftop solar panels.
"The challenges presented by DER are being managed by the roadmap, but much work is still to be done.
"Continued vigilance and the full implementation of the Energy Transformation Strategy is needed to ensure the safe and efficient operation of our energy system."
