This report was produced by Deakin University’s Better Consumption Lab and forms part of a broader project examining residential, commercial and industry, and local government perceptions of virtual power plants. This report focuses specifically on residential customer experiences and perceptions.
Report extract
Sixteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 residents from the Hume region, each of whom had varying experience with virtual power plant trials such as Project EDGE. The key purpose of these interviews was to evaluate the motivators and barriers for joining a virtual power plant and to examine their perceptions of virtual power plants more broadly. Qualitative analysis of these interviews revealed three key themes:
- Participation was facilitated by non-financial benefits and impeded by upfront financial costs.
- Energy trading sits at odds with the perception that batteries are a personal energy asset.
- Mondo was viewed more as a hardware provider than as an energy aggregator.
