CICCADA project to analyse Australia's consumer energy

A new $4.3 million project will examine Australia’s use of consumer energy resources (CER) in order to understand how these can be better integrated into the grid.

Project CICCADA, conducted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW), will analyse large real-world datasets from CER such as rooftop solar, household batteries and electric vehicles. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is contributing $1.7 million in funding to the initiative.

The project, which stands for “Consumer-Energy-Resources Integration, Compliance and Curtailment Assessment and Data Analysis” (CICCADA), builds on previous work from UNSW, including through the ARENA-funded Project Match.

Australia is a global leader in rooftop solar installations, with approximately 40% of freestanding dwellings having a rooftop system. Household battery and electric vehicle ownership is also increasing rapidly, according to ARENA.

ARENA’s acting CEO Chris Faris said CER technologies and products are at the heart of the clean energy transition, turning consumers into active participants in the energy system. However, these technologies need to be properly integrated into the electricity grid for the nation to achieve its renewable energy and emissions reduction targets.

“CER is about decentralising energy production by harnessing the power generated by rooftop solar panels, batteries and smart home devices. These create a more flexible and cleaner energy grid, that helps reduce emissions while improving energy reliability,” Faris explained.

“We know that CER can contribute to the goal of a cleaner, more reliable grid, so it’s important to have a detailed understanding of all the impacts of CER integration,” he continued.

“Project CICCADA aims to help plug this knowledge gap, helping us understand how the rollout of CER technologies can be done in a way that maintains the stability of the energy grid, and allows us all to benefit from cleaner, reliable energy.”

ARENA said the project would contribute to an understanding of how CER devices operate under a range of different network conditions without compromising network security, power reliability and energy quality for Australian households.

Faris said CER technologies present a powerful shift in the way energy is produced, localising energy generation, giving Australians control over their energy footprint, and potentially helping to balance supply and demand. “This helps ensure communities are less vulnerable to energy disruption,” he said.

Project lead Dr Baran Yildiz, Senior Lecturer at UNSW, said Project CICCADA would generate key insights on the effectiveness and implications of various network measures governing CER operations, as well as building tools to help maximise the benefits for society while maintaining and supporting network security.

Image credit: iStock.com/Ziga Plahutar