Peter Asmus, principal research analyst at Navigant Research, offers a snapshot of global microgrid development trends, then zeros in on Australia as the current hotspot for smart integration of distributed energy resources (DERs). Why Australia?
In his Microgrid 2018 presentation, Asmus discusses innovative microgrids, virtual power plants and transactive energy deployments, as well as leading companies looking to export their expertise from down under to the rest of the world.
According to Asmus, “Microgrids are part of an emerging energy cloud made up of a diverse suite of DER (distributed energy resource) technologies.”
And emerging infrastructure is far more integrated, dynamic, and complex than in years past.
Microgrids incorporate a rich diversity of DER on the generation side. Last year, combined heat and power (655 MW) was the leading DER choice, followed by solar photovoltaics (392 MW) and diesel (385 MW), according to Navigant.
By 2026, Asmus predicts the DER landscape will shift even further away from fossil fuels.
Australia has the opportunity to showcase how the diversity of DER management platforms can address both the physical grid and market transactional aspects of the Energy Cloud, according to Asmus.
Spotlighting trends in Australia, Asmus points out that its consumers boast one of the highest per capita consumption of electricity in the world — even greater than the U.S.
And despite being an industrialized economy, Australia has remote areas where resilience is paramount and off-grid microgrids needed for basic electricity service.
The country is well ahead of the game in renewables, as well. Australia has the highest percentage (more than 15 percent) of households with rooftop solar PV systems.
Just last year, 1.25 GW of solar PV was installed in Australia — a record even for the solar-energy progressive region.
Download the full presentation from Microgrid 2018 in Chicago and learn why Australia is emerging as one of the top markets for DER aggregation and global microgrid optimization platforms in the world.