IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - November/December 2020 - 36

of elevated prices and discharging when prices are high can
be observed. As a result, the power system is s- upported by
the provision of additional energy when needed. These events
show that VPPs can benefit the following groups:
✔✔ participating consumers, by sharing the value earned
through participation in FCASs and responding to energy market prices
✔✔ all other consumers, by creating more competition to
reduce prices and, if VPPs scale up enough, potentially deferring/displacing the need for large-scale
generation assets.
Next Steps

Australia's demonstrations will continue to provide knowledge regarding the effectiveness of VPPs for adding value
to the power system. The addition of other participants will
enrich the current data set and enable more analysis to be
carried out and a deeper understanding to be gained. Conclusions will then be drawn to inform other DER-related trials and future market reform recommendations.

Looking Forward
Cast your mind forward to a bright spring day during the
2030s. D-PV generation is likely to be an even more
familiar sight across most major Australian cities, accompanied by BESSs and a fleet of EVs. Perhaps Adelaide, the
South Australian coastal capital, no longer has a monopoly on breaking minimum electricity demand records.
As solar noon approaches, distribution systems across
the country become net exporters, and reverse flows are
rife. However, the grid is humming along nicely, and the
system remains stable and secure. Dynamic distribution
network limits are being broadcast, and the voltage is
managed as DERs act to support the grid. Consumers are
gaining rewards for the role their DERs perform, VPPs
are responding to power system needs, and the benefits
are being shared across the population. Very occasionally, a fault sends the voltage or the frequency wobbling;
however, the system quickly responds and predictably
brings operations back into kilter. Consumers again go
about their business, rarely registering the new and evolving systems that are in place as the grid of the future
slides seamlessly into the fabric of daily life. Perhaps this
world is even closer than expected, with Australia at the
pointy end of DER integration and with the impacts that
are already being felt across the entire power system. As
an eventful Australian summer comes to a close, the challenges and opportunities afforded by DERs are undiminished, and the collaborations across the industry are as
important as ever.

Acknowledgment
We would like to gratefully acknowledge contributions from
the SAPN team, which provided valuable input, guidance,
and feedback during the development of this article.
36

ieee power & energy magazine

For Further Reading
"Technical integration of distributed energy resources,"
AEMO, Melbourne, Australia, Apr. 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/Files/Electricity/NEM/
DER/2019/Technical-Integration/Technical-Integration
-of-DER-Report.pdf
"AEMO Virtual Power Plant demonstration: Knowledge
sharing report #1," AEMO, Melbourne, Australia, Mar.
2020. [Online]. Available: https://aemo.com.au/-/media/
f iles/elect r icity/der/2020/aemo -k nowledge-sha r ing
-stage-1-report.pdf?la=en
"Renewable Integration Study Stage 1 Appendix A: High
penetrations of distributed solar PV," AEMO, Melbourne,
Australia, Apr. 2020. [Online]. Available: https://aemo.com
.au/-/media/files/major-publications/ris/2020/ris-stage-1
-appendix-a.pdf
"Distribution annual planning report," Energex, Brisbane, Australia, Dec. 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www
.energex.com.au/about-us/company-information/company
-policies-And-reports/distribution-annual-planning-report
SA Power Networks, "Low voltage management business
case," Adelaide, Australia, Jan. 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Attachment%205%20
Part%207%20-%20Future%20Network.zip
SA Power Networks, "Future network strategy," Adelaide, Australia, Nov. 2017. [Online]. Available: https://
www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Attachment%205%20Part%20
7%20-%20Future%20Network.zip
N. Stringer, N. Haghdadi, A. Bruce, J. Riesz, and I. MacGill, "Observed behavior of distributed photovoltaic systems
during major voltage disturbances and implications for power system security," Appl. Energy, vol. 260, p. 114,283, Feb.
2020. doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114283.

Biographies
Naomi Stringer is with the University of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia.
Anna Bruce is with the University of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia.
Iain MacGill is with the University of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia.
Navid Haghdadi is with the University of New South
Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Peter Kilby is with the Energy Queensland Group, Brisbane, Australia.
Jacqui Mills is with the Australian Energy Market Operator, Melbourne, Australia.
Taru Veijalainen is with the Australian Energy Market
Operator, Brisbane, Australia.
Matt Armitage is with the Australian Energy Market Operator, Melbourne, Australia.
Nigel Wilmot is the Chair of the AS/NZS4777.2 Committee, Perth, Australia.

p&e
november/december 2020

https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/Files/Electricity/NEM/DER/2019/Technical-Integration/Technical-Integration-of-DER-Report.pdf https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/Files/Electricity/NEM/DER/2019/Technical-Integration/Technical-Integration-of-DER-Report.pdf https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/Files/Electricity/NEM/DER/2019/Technical-Integration/Technical-Integration-of-DER-Report.pdf https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/electricity/der/2020/aemo-knowledge-sharing-stage-1-report.pdf?la=en https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/electricity/der/2020/aemo-knowledge-sharing-stage-1-report.pdf?la=en https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/electricity/der/2020/aemo-knowledge-sharing-stage-1-report.pdf?la=en https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/major-publications/ris/2020/ris-stage-1-appendix-a.pdf https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/major-publications/ris/2020/ris-stage-1-appendix-a.pdf https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/major-publications/ris/2020/ris-stage-1-appendix-a.pdf https://www.energex.com.au/about-us/company-information/company-policies-And-reports/distribution-annual-planning-report https://www.energex.com.au/about-us/company-information/company-policies-And-reports/distribution-annual-planning-report https://www.energex.com.au/about-us/company-information/company-policies-And-reports/distribution-annual-planning-report https://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Attachment%205%20Part%207%20-%20Future%20Network.zip https://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Attachment%205%20Part%207%20-%20Future%20Network.zip http://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Attachment%205%20Part%20 7%20-%20Future%20Network.zip http://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Attachment%205%20Part%20 7%20-%20Future%20Network.zip http://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Attachment%205%20Part%20 7%20-%20Future%20Network.zip

IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - November/December 2020

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