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HOW CAN BUSINESSES GET MORE VALUE FROM THEIR

INVESTMENT IN SOLAR AND STORAGE?

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May 26, 2016

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ABOUT

Akhil Pai

What do you need to know to minimise your risk and maximise the value
of your commercial-scale solar and storage system?

Business
Development
Manager, Power
+61 406 874 101
Email

In our fast-moving environment, the time for businesses to act on solar and storage is now.
Early movers are well placed to capture the best opportunities from commercial solar generation
(large solar arrays in places such as shopping malls, warehouses, universities or airports) and other

Silke Schwartz

Manager, Renewables
+61 407 886 872
Email

types of mid-scale embedded generation and, notably, network operators are already moving
ahead with some of their own innovations and installations to add value to the electricity network.

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The business case for investments in commercial solar and storage are made almost entirely on the
basis of projected savings on electricity bills assuming continuation of current taris. However,
current tari structures dont reect the way network operators experience costs to supply
electricity, and the threat of future adjustments can make these sizeable investments risky for
astute businesses. So how can you make the best of the available opportunities and add value to
your investment?
As you prepare to act, you need to understand some key factors:

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how and where you can add value

how to benet nancially from embedded generation and storage by working with network
service providers (i.e. what schemes are available)
how to manage the technical and commercial risks, and
how to make the most of falling technology prices (particularly for batteries).

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BEHIND THE METER, OR GRID SUPPORT?

Most existing embedded generation is rooftop solar PV installed behind the meter, reducing the
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businesss electricity bills, generating the businesss energy needs, and improving the businesss
overall carbon footprint. The size of these systems has usually closely matched the load, and

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export to the grid has been less of a priority.

However, as storage technologies become cheaper and more readily available, greater scope
emerges for renewable embedded generation to export power into the grid: providing extra
generation in capacity-constrained areas, supporting peak demand, and reducing or deferring the
need for grid upgrades or extension at the fringes of the grid or in new developments. They can
also support reliability and power quality standards.
In this market, businesses considering solar and storage need to think of themselves as project

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developers. One way for developers to capitalise on the available prospects, minimise risk, and
add value to a commercial embedded generation investment is to work out how to turn these
possible forms of network support into additional revenue streams.
BENEFITS OF NETWORK SUPPORT
When embedded generation and storage adds value to the network, signicant benets are
available for both commercial generators and network operators, and these benets can be
shared. Yet, despite these opportunities, there are still very few examples of mid-scale systems
being recognised to provide network support.
Network support is typically where a system that is not part of the traditional network, such as
solar, wind, or batteries, helps the network to deliver its function of reliable electricity supply to
customers. As a simple example, a network operator facing rising demand in a specic area would
traditionally plan for a substation upgrade. But if it costs less, they may consider a network support
strategy to install local embedded generation and storage.
Whilst regulatory reform is underway to formalise parts of this, plenty of potential opportunities
exist now. To make the most of these options, proponents need a good understanding of the key
issues, and close collaboration with network service providers.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS, NEW POSSIBILITIES
Opportunities for network support at existing premises can be very valuable, but these only exist
in specic locations. Such prospects are certainly worth exploring; however, it is in the context of
new developments that opportunities are becoming most abundant.
Where a new connection is required for a residential development, a large shopping complex or a
similar large development, an opening exists to optimise the combination of baseload power
supply from the network with peaking power from embedded generation such as commercial solar
and/or storage. This option is particularly eective where the local resource coincides with the
load, such as a good daytime solar resource that matches a daytime shopping centre load.
The embedded generation or storage may be able to signicantly reduce the capacity
requirements for the network connection, and alleviate broader network constraints that would
need to be addressed if the entire additional load were drawn from the network. In all cases,
battery storage increases the available possibilities by addressing instances where peak demand
exists but generation output is not available, or where renewable energy generation does not
coincide well with load.
PREPARING FOR ACTION
A good place to start exploring the possibilities for commercial solar and storage in more detail is
Australias Clean Energy Council report Grid Support: Revealing Mid-scale Generation and Storage
Potential. The Clean Energy Council engaged Entura to conduct this extensive study because we
understand the regulatory constraints, the technology and its applications, and the multiple
revenue streams that make up the business case for its proponents.

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The report is based on detailed analysis of the commercial, technical and regulatory aspects of
commercial solar and storage, and identies the key areas that still need to be addressed so that
network operators and commercial solar developers can fully harness the potential benets these
technologies can oer the grid.
To discuss how Entura can support you to best take advantage of the benets of mid-scale
embedded generation and storage, contact Chris Blanksby on +61 408 536 625, Akhil Paion +61
406 874 101 or Silke Schwartz on +61 407 886 872.
About the author
Dr Chris Blanksby is a Senior Renewable Energy Engineer at Entura, and Enturas lead solar energy
specialist. In addition to leading the above-mentioned report for the Clean Energy Council, Chris
previously led the work on demand-side-management opportunities for the Clean Energy Council.
Chris has undertaken and published research on the solar resource in Australia, and has led several
due diligence and owners engineer projects for wind, solar and microgrid projects in Australia, the
Pacic and Asia. Chris is currently leading Enturas owners engineer team assisting the
Government of Cook Islands to implement six solar PV microgrid projects, and build capacity
towards their 100% renewable target.
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