With a commitment to clean energy future, the Victorian government introduced a new virtual power plant pilot program to improve the household solar network and to power the country with renewable solar energy.
These virtual power plants enable households having storage solar battery installations to share their unused energy by transferring it to the grid or by sharing it with fellow Victorians, thereby saving extra dollars on power bills.
Virtual Power Plants is a two-year pilot program capped at covering 2000 rebates and will be overseen by Solar Victoria. Households signing for this program before 30th June 2022 and installing a solar battery will receive a rebate of $4,174 depending on the eligibility criteria.
Leading brand names in the solar panel industry, including Reposit, Sonnen, Qcells and Mondo have signed to deliver the batteries on behalf of Solar Victoria. Eligible households will be paid extra for energy generated, which means savings on bills. Also, this boosts the grid reliability for everyone.
Participants will be paid for excess energy, which means increased bill savings for them and boosted grid reliability for everyone else. Under each program approved, homeowners can benefit from:
- Discounts On Hardware
- Reduced Energy Bills
- Regular Compensation
Some of these benefits are available state-wide, while others are tailored for a specific region. The terms and conditions are discussed and agreed upon upfront about the amount of energy shared and the amount left in the battery for household use, along with the compensation amount.
This two-year power pilot program follows a $47.4 million investment in the Victorian Budget for the financial program 2020-21 to meet the ever increasing demand for Solar Homes battery rebates.
Conclusion
Victoria is opting for solar with an overwhelming response and virtual power plants are designed to capture and use this sun powered energy produced by Victorian households, so they can create and share power for more savings and resilience.
