Project Converge
Project Converge aims to demonstrate new distributed energy resources (DER) orchestration capabilities known as ‘shaped operating envelopes’ which will allow energy distributors such as Evoenergy to improve network congestion management, minimise network expenditure and improve DER market bidding into energy and ancillary service markets.
This project received funding from ARENA as part of ARENA's Advancing Renewables Program. Evoenergy will lead the $8.4 million project, known as Project Converge, in collaboration with the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at the Australian National University (ANU), Zepben and the ACT Government.
Why Project Converge?
An electricity network operating at its physical or operational limits is what we call ‘congested’, which simply means it cannot accommodate additional flows of energy. When congestion occurs within the network, the ability for DER (solar, batteries and electric vehicles) to support energy reliability, and energy security diminishes. New technology capabilities, regulations and market mechanisms are necessary to support the integration and participation of solar, batteries and electric vehicles in energy markets and ancillary services without risking congestion.
Project Converge will demonstrate how solar, batteries and electric vehicles can provide network ancillary services while also bidding into energy markets. These capabilities are expected to enable solar, batteries and electric vehicles to alleviate grid constraints caused by power quality or physical network constraints, and unlock further network capacity without the need for additional network investment.
This important evolution of the way solar, batteries and electric vehicles operate within our electricity network doesn’t just benefit the network, it provides solar, battery and electric vehicle owners more flexibility with the potential to truly maximise their investment, and it keeps costs down for all consumers across the network.
What will Project Converge deliver?
Through Project Converge Evoenergy will:
design and develop a system to support the integration of solar, batteries and electric vehicles into the ACT electricity network
deploy new software systems to demonstrate the shaped operating envelope concept for solar, batteries and electric vehicles
integrate hardware, software and systems to pilot capabilities with up to 1,000 existing customer-owned solar and battery systems
deliver open-source, royalty free designs and models which can be adopted by other Australian electricity distributors, and
deliver a range of knowledge sharing reports and webinars to share lessons with industry.
Overall, Project Converge will demonstrate how dynamic network services can be procured and deployed to manage and alleviate congestion within electricity distribution networks.
In the first phase of the project, Evoenergy will be working with project partners and existing battery aggregators in the ACT to reach out to eligible customers to gauge their interest in participating in the project. Participants in the trial will receive an incentive of up to a maximum of $200.
The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government, and the Australian Government does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein