Shell Energy Smart Energy Hubs Deployment Project
- $9.1m Funded by ARENA
- $31.55m Total project cost
Summary
The Shell Energy Smart Energy Hubs Deployment Project will implement Smart Energy Hubs throughout Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria across 40 commercial and industrial (C&I) customer sites to demonstrate new flexible demand capacity of 21.5 MW.
Need
The Shell Energy Smart Energy Hubs Deployment Project acknowledges that wide adoption of holistic demand flexibility services is currently limited due to insufficient market revenue for customer return on investment, and the initial high cost of deploying equipment.
The project seeks to address regulatory and commercial barriers to support the adoption and delivery of demand flexibility services through a ‘whole of site’ approach at C&I customer sites.
Learn more
Report: Smart Energy Hubs Deployment Project Lessons Learnt 1
This first Lessons Learnt Report discusses technical aspects and the onboarding of suitable C&I sites, as well as technical and operational requirements to provide a flexible demand solution to scale.
Report: Smart Energy Hubs Stage 1 Report: Regulatory Reform
This report reflects work undertaken to identify reform options that will facilitate an increase in participation of C&I flexible demand in existing market schemes, market and network services for trialling as part of Stage 2 of the Project.
Media Release: Unlocking Flexible Demand at Commercial and Industrial Sites
ARENA announced funding to Shell Energy to implement energy load control across at least 40 commercial and industrial (C&I) customer sites to demonstrate flexible demand capacity.
Action
Shell Energy has identified shopping centres, supermarkets and refrigerated distribution centres as the initial target markets with controllable loads including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, battery energy storage, and other direct load control devices such as lighting, building management system connected devices, and electric vehicle chargers.
The project will be delivered across three parallel activities:
- Advance commercialisation of flexible load capability in the C&I sectors – this focus involves deploying Smart Energy Hubs at shopping centres, supermarkets and distribution centres in three tranches.
- Deliver targeted regulatory reforms to existing demand response related schemes that benefit demand response service providers and increase the value of distributed energy resources.
- Generate awareness and interest from market bodies, State and Federal Government to increase the value of flexible demand services before 2025 due to the market challenges it can address.
Outcome
If successful, this project will help:
- improve the understanding of how to commercialise Smart Energy Hubs at scale
- reduce costs for flexible demand services and firm renewable energy generation across the system through deployment of Smart Energy Hubs across C&I sectors at scale
- reduce barriers for flexible demand services through stakeholder engagement and revised regulatory mechanisms
- increase value delivered by flexible demand services through stakeholder engagement and potential new market services that can be formalised.
Read more
ARENAWIRE Blogs
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