This report will focus on the technology vendor led approach to registering DER in deX and, specifically, on the insights gained from a recent customer enrolment campaign, in partnership with Enphase.
Report extract
This report will focus on the technology vendor led approach to registering DER in deX and, specifically, on the insights gained from a recent customer enrolment campaign, in partnership with Enphase.
Enphase is a leading global manufacturer of solar microinverters and AC battery storage, with over fifty thousand systems installed across Australia.
This report will discuss the important insights gained from understanding the influence of messaging and the need to continuously optimise the customer journey, to the technical and communication challenges that had to be overcome. It also outlines the strategic partnership approach taken with Enphase and the future considerations for deX as it scales nationally.
As deX itself is not a consumer-facing brand, collaboration with strategic partners is key to engagement with DER owners. There are four different pathways that a consumer-owned DER may be registered in deX. These pathways are as follows and this report, as previously mentioned, will focus on the third:
- Network led – such as during a DER connection process
- Retailer led – through virtual power plants (VPPs) or innovative new offers to consumers
- Technology vendor led – such as through a technology vendor offer or campaign for their consumers
- Installer led – either as a connection requirement or as a value-add to customers.
A solar system, battery, electric vehicle or other DER that is registered with deX will be, with the customer’s consent, visible to the local network operator. This DER can then, in future, be contracted for grid services such as supplying energy during peak demand, managing frequency or grid voltage, or taking action to reduce network constraints. It can also participate in VPPs which gives DER owners the chance to unlock new value streams from their assets.
For this to be possible, a consumer-owned DER must be deX-enabled. This means that the technology vendor, in this case Enphase, has been integrated with the deX API and the consumer’s asset registered on the platform, with their consent.
Through this pilot, we were able to demonstrate the opportunities that a single integration with deX opens up; its ability to streamline DER registration nationally and provide near-real time visibility of system behaviour to distribution network operators.
Further, we were able to demonstrate the sophisticated capabilities of Enphase technology integrated with deX. Specifically in the context of providing valuable system telemetry1 to networks, who are grappling with the challenges associated with managing the growing number of rooftop solar systems connected to the grid across Australia.