Opus One Solutions Selected by AusNet to Join Project EDGE in Piloting a Distributed Energy Resources Marketplace

TORONTO, Aug. 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Opus One Solutions, a Global Cleantech 100 Company and leading provider of distributed energy resources (DER) and transactive energy (TE) management software has been selected by AusNet Services (Australia) to join Project EDGE (energy, demand and generation exchange). The multi-year project is a collaboration between the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), AusNet Services and Mondo Power with financial support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). AusNet Services will deploy Opus One’s GridOS® software to support project EDGE’s DER marketplace in the Hume Region of Victoria, Australia.

Project EDGE aims to develop and test the concept of a DER marketplace for DER services. The EDGE project will utilize a pioneering two-sided DER market whereby aggregated services from customers’ energy resources will be traded to improve electricity reliability, security, and affordability for consumers. This will be achieved through optimization of customer export and import limits, improved forecasting and reliable dispatch of DER fleets. The market will be underpinned by systems supporting standardized data exchange, wholesale integration of DERs and delivery of local network services using aggregated DERs.

John Theunissen, head of emerging markets at AusNet Services notes - “As a flagship DER project, the EDGE team at AusNet Services were keen to work with a systems partner who had demonstrated capability in the field as well as the ability to effectively collaborate on a trial where much of the detailed design would evolve through the course of the project. In Opus One we believe we have found that partner”.

Opus One Solutions GridOS was selected by AusNet Services to be deployed in this project to provide a reliable and secure system that could manage the operational and economic challenges of utilizing DER on the distribution grid through a competitive marketplace, while mitigating their impact on the grid. The implementation of GridOS for use by AusNet Services within Project EDGE will be undertaken in 3 phases that demonstrate operating envelopes for grid coordinated DER operations, demonstrating local service exchange (LSE) and scaled business-as-usual deployment of operating envelope and LSE.

“It is wonderful to see a nation like Australia embrace and capitalize upon the investments made by residents and companies at the edge of the grid to support the network. Hence empowering companies like Opus One to promote grid innovation in creating a level playing field for DERs that further enhances competition and drives down cost for consumers” stated Hari Subramaniam, Chief of Strategic Growth for Opus One.

Utilizing GridOS offers project AusNet Services the ability to manage DER operations in a way that supports grid safety and optimal performance. This then maximizes the DERs ability to provide grid and wholesale energy services through market participation in electricity markets. The software does this through market integration that considers distribution limits and allows for optimized resource schedules. GridOS will allow AusNet Services to manage power quality issues by computing and publishing operating envelopes which are dynamic and identify locational hosting capacities for DERs at the connection point. These dynamic operating envelopes are expected to increase grid resiliency while maintaining optimal distribution of grid resources within a market in a manner that best meets consumer and regulatory requirements.

According to Anoop Nambiar, EDGE program manager at AusNet Services “While the ability to meet the requirements of the EDGE trial was a key criterion for us, the selection of the Opus One solution is certainly expected to allow us to maximize the return on investment beyond the duration of the trial”.

The intention of project EDGE is to build off the extensive work done in collaborative industry initiatives, which have identified that distribution network service providers and energy market operators can benefit from working together. By working together, they can continue to build off market-based operational models that can efficiently integrate DER at scale.

“This project builds upon our foundation in enabling DER’s to help solve grid and climate changes issues, learning from our live projects in the UK and US” stated Joshua Wong, CEO of Opus One Solutions

This project represents one of the many ways collaborative approaches can be integrated to inform the future of energy markets. Transitioning to a low-carbon economy presents a significant opportunity to further catalyze an important emerging market and support the transformation of the global energy sector. As many countries work to meet targets for a net-zero emission of greenhouse gases by 2050, project EDGE demonstrates that a market-based approach that encourages the adoption of low carbon solutions is necessary to impact change.

“It is exciting to see a Canadian company expand and partner with AusNet to help fight climate change. Canada and Australia have a long-standing partnership of working together to solve world’s biggest challenges – and it’s clear that this partnership will be critical to secure our shared future in the months and years ahead” stated Hon. Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade

About Opus One Solutions   

Opus One Solutions is a software and solutions company with the vision of a digitalized, decentralized and decarbonized planet. Its intelligent distributed energy management platform, GridOS^®, optimizes complex power flows to deliver operational time-frame energy management, integrated planning, and market enablement to distribution utilities and other managers of distributed energy resources. GridOS is modular, scalable, and integrates seamlessly with existing data systems to unlock greater potential for distributed energy resources, including renewable generation, energy storage, and responsive demand. 

Visit our page to learn more and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.  

About AusNet Services

AusNet Services is a diversified Australian energy infrastructure business with over $10.8 billion of electricity and gas network and connection assets. These assets deliver energy safely and reliably to around 1.5 million customers across Victoria. Our network and connection assets are designed, built, maintained and operated by our 1,700 employees across our regulated networks and our commercial energy services business, Mondo. AusNet Services is focused on ensuring all our customers can rely on our networks to deliver energy, while we work to adapt and evolve the networks to support the shift to more renewable generation and the spectrum of customer needs.

To learn more about AusNet Services please visit https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/en

About Project EDGE

Project EDGE (Energy Demand and Generation Exchange) is a multi-year project to demonstrate an off-market, proof-of-concept Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Marketplace that efficiently operates DER to provide both wholesale and local network services within the constraints of the distribution network.

The project is a collaboration between AEMO, AusNet Services and Mondo, with financial support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and is focused within the Hume region of north-east Victoria. The intent is to use this to demonstrate capabilities which can then be replicated across other areas of the National Electricity Market (NEM).

To learn more about project EDGE visit their page.

About Mondo Power

Mondo provides services and technology for essential infrastructure in the energy, water and transport sectors, including transmission connections, grid-scale storage, smart energy management systems, mini grids, and community energy hubs.

To learn more about Mondo Power visit their page.

About AEMO

As the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), we’re shaping a better energy future for all Australians. Our role is to manage the electricity and gas systems and markets across Australia, helping to ensure Australians have access to affordable, secure and reliable energy. Australia’s energy landscape is undergoing rapid and unprecedented levels of change. This change is being driven by an evolving power supply mix, ageing infrastructure, weather, changing technologies, consumer preferences and increasing interdependencies between our gas and electricity markets. We’re actively driving and planning for Australia’s energy future, making sure that Australians will continue to have access to secure and reliable energy in the years to come.

In short, we’re helping keep Australia’s lights on – and its water hot – now, and in the future.

To learn more about Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) visit their page.

Australian Renewable Energy Agency

ARENA is the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. We were established by the Australian Government on 1 July 2012. Our purpose is to improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies and increase the supply of renewable energy through innovation that benefits Australian consumers and businesses.

To learn more about the Australian Renewables Energy Agency visit their page.

For media inquiries about Opus One Solutions, please contact:

Melissa Serrano
Senior Marketing & Communications Manager
Opus One Solutions
Email: [email protected] 
647-980-0716