<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/apartment-dwellers-are-trapped-in-embedded-networks-they-need-a-better-deal-on-pv-and-batteries/>
"Embedded networks could become a cornerstone of Australia’s renewable energy
future, enabling apartment buildings and communities to generate, store, and
share renewable power.
But without reform, Australia risks locking thousands of households into these
systems that more often now hinder rather than help the clean energy
transition.
“They are a key part of the transition, and particularly in the context where
we’ve got more and more apartment blocks that are being built, higher density
housing and the need for more housing,” Connor James, director and principal at
Law Quarter, told
Renew Economy’s
SwitchedOn Australia podcast.
Embedded networks are private electricity systems common in large apartment
buildings, retirement villages and even caravan parks.
More than 500,000 Australian households were part of an embedded network back
in 2017. That number has jumped as high-density housing increases, meaning a
growing share of Australians are affected by how these private networks
operate.
Theoretically, embedded networks are ideally suited for distributed energy
resources (DER) like rooftop solar, shared batteries, EV chargers, and
microgrids because they aggregate multiple consumers behind a single gate
meter.
This means they can provide solar for an entire building rather than individual
apartments, and enable collective storage and load management with batteries,
EVs and smart controls.
James says they could provide residents with cheaper, cleaner energy.
But in practice, even without distributed energy resources, most embedded
networks have historically failed to pass on benefits to consumers.
Embedded networks are effectively treated as a single customer by the
distribution network, so they can make savings by aggregating electricity
consumption across tenants, purchasing electricity in bulk, and avoiding
multiple network costs.
“Unfortunately, a number of tenants within those embedded networks are not
receiving the price [for electricity] that they should be receiving, and in
some instances, are paying more than what they would be if they were directly
connected,” James says.
This is because embedded networks are usually run by operators trying to
maximise their own profits."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
