Western Australia Distributed Energy Resources Orchestration Pilot (Project Symphony)
- $8.55m Funded by ARENA
- $35.44m Total project cost
Summary
The Western Australia Distributed Energy Resources Orchestration Pilot is piloting the orchestration of customer-owned distributed energy resources (DER) such as rooftop solar, batteries and major appliances to participate in a future energy market.
Need
The Western Australia Distributed Energy Resources Orchestration Pilot project acknowledges that one in three households in Western Australia (WA) has rooftop solar, equivalent to almost 2 gigawatts of renewable energy generation. Collectively, this represents the largest source of electricity generation on the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).
Growth in consumer-owned DER will increase further in the years ahead as more solar systems with integrated battery storage come online. However, the widespread uptake of rooftop solar creates challenges and opportunities for the delivery of electricity.
A high proportion of decentralised, unmanaged DER poses a risk to the stability of the WA power network when an excess of local rooftop solar generation greatly exceeds the demand for electricity at certain times of the day. Project Symphony will orchestrate customer DER to not only overcome the technical challenges to the electricity network but also enable DER participation in future energy markets to unlock greater benefits to customers.
This project consists of:
Project reports- ARENA media release 01/12/21
- Project Symphony – Cost Benefit Analysis and Recommendations Report
- Project Symphony – DER Participation Framework – Work Package 7 Report
- Project Symphony – End of Project Assessment
- Project Symphony – Final Lessons Learnt Report
- Project Symphony Aggregator Report
- Project Symphony DER Service Valuation Report
- Project Symphony DER Services Report
- Project Symphony Distribution Constraints Optimisation Algorithm Report
- Project Symphony Lessons Learnt 2
- Project Symphony Lessons Learnt Report 1
- Project Symphony Platform Functional and Non-Functional Requirements Report
- Project Symphony Vision and Impact Pathway
- Western Power – Project Symphony – Combined Platform (as built) Report for DSO, DMO and Aggregator
- Western Power – Project Symphony – Lessons Learnt Report Milestone 03: Testing
- Western Power – Project Symphony – Pilot Results and Recommendations
- Western Power – Project Symphony – Social Research Report
Learn more
Report: Project Symphony Lessons Learnt 2
This report provides a high-level overview of the lessons learnt during the build and integrate phase of Project Symphony.
Report: Project Symphony Distribution Constraints Optimisation Algorithm
This report provided information on the network Distribution Constraints Optimisation Algorithm (DCOA) tool.
Media Release: Composing a Distributed Energy Symphony in Western Australia’s Largest Energy Grid
ARENA announced funding to Western Power for the development of a pre-commercial pilot focused on developing and operating Distributed Energy Resources within the South West Interconnected System in Perth, Western Australia.
Report: Project Symphony Platform Functional and Non-Functional Requirements
This report provides information about the functional and non-functional requirements for the Distributed System Operator (DSO), Distribution Market Operator (DMO) and Aggregator Platforms, to be used in an off-market pilot to simulate aggregated Distributed Energy Resource (DER) integration into the Western Australian Energy Market (WEM), as at the date of publication.
Report: Project Symphony Aggregator
This document summarises the approach taken to identify and engage Third-Party Aggregators to be involved in the provision of DER services and orchestration testing within Project Symphony, and to summarise insights from primary research into customer sentiment towards DER orchestration and Third-Party Aggregators.
Report: Project Symphony DER Service Valuation
This report outlines a potential set of methods for valuing services provided by resources contributing to the Project Symphony pilot only.
Report: Project Symphony DER Services
This report provides a cost benefit assessment of the economic benefits that could be provided by the operation of a virtual power plant (VPP) in Western Australia’s (WA’s) South West Interconnected System (SWIS).
Report: Project Symphony Vision and Impact Pathway
This report captures the collective vision of Project Symphony and outlines a pathway to achieve the project’s objectives.
Report: Project Symphony Lessons Learnt Report 1
This report provides an update on lessons learnt in the first stages of Project Symphony.
Action
A collaboration between Western Power, Synergy and AEMO, Project Symphony is an innovative pilot project designed to ‘orchestrate’ 900 DER assets across 500 homes and businesses in the Southern River areas of Atwell, Harrisdale and Piara Waters into a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). The Southern River area has been chosen for the pilot due to the high uptake of rooftop solar – almost half of all homes in the area have solar systems installed.
The project will aggregate the electricity generated by the DER and dispatch excess supply to the network in the same way as a traditional power plant. It will also help create a more stable and efficient localised electricity system with benefits for the entire network.
The project scope includes the procurement, development, integration and testing of the software based Distribution Market Operator (DMO), Distribution System Operator (DSO) and DER Aggregator ‘platforms’, including the hardware and services required to aggregate and orchestrate customer DER ‘end to end’ to participate in a future energy market.
The project will share lessons and information with industry stakeholders, including a social science study designed to understand customer sentiment towards a variety of DER asset types and product offerings of broader market adoption.
Outcome
The future integration of DER across the SWIS will allow for the further expansion of renewable energy generation across the network, leading to cleaner and cheaper energy for all electricity customers, not just those with solar and battery systems. It may also reduce the need for investment in traditional base load power supply, such as large-scale coal or gas-fired power plants.
The two-year pilot will deliver valuable insights into how the electricity system can be strengthened to continue to provide reliable, secure and affordable power in a rapidly changing energy environment.
Additional impact
The project will share project lessons and information with industry stakeholders. This plan also includes a social science study designed to understand customer sentiment towards a variety of DER asset types and product offerings of broader market adoption.
The outcomes of Project Symphony will inform the policy, market design and regulatory reform required for DER integration and participation in the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM).
ARENAWIRE Blogs
Rooftop solar and home energy device management in Western Australia
Rooftop solar, home batteries and other household devices will be harnessed as part of a new pilot project.
