Flexible solar exports trial | CitiPower & Powercor

Flexible exports – a smarter way to connect solar

We’re developing a smarter way to manage the flow of solar power into our networks.

With support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), we’re partnering with 100 customers to trial flexible solar exports.

Households who may be eligible for this trial will have recently installed solar but were approved to export less than what their system is capable of.

How flexible exports works

Our trial will allow participants to export more of their surplus solar. By removing their fixed limit, these customers will be able to export up to the capacity of their inverter.

On rare occasions when an excess supply of energy risks overloading the network, we will temporarily reduce the flow of solar power from these households. Even in these events, participants’ exports will not be reduced below their current fixed limit.

By adjusting solar exports in real-time, we can enable customers to export more energy while ensuring the stability of the network on days when excess energy is generated.

Eligible customers will be invited to participate in the trial directly, with Flexible Exports scheduled to be offered more widely across our network in the future.

FAQs

How do flexible exports work?

Flexible exports automatically adjust households’ solar export limits to match the available capacity of the network.

This means that instead of a low, fixed export limit, customers with a flexible export connection will be able to export up to the capacity of their inverter.

Across the network, we believe this will allow customers to enjoy unrestricted exports 90 per cent of the time.

All that’s needed to benefit from flexible exports are a reliable internet connection and a compatible inverter.

What are the benefits?

Choosing a flexible exports connection provides benefits for your home and your community, by:

Allowing more households to export more of their constrained solar, unlocking greater financial value.
Helping to achieve Victoria’s renewable energy targets by allowing more solar into the network.
Supporting a safe, reliable, and affordable electricity in a network that is increasingly powered by renewable energy.

Will I be better off?

Is specialised equipment required?

How do I sign up to the trial?

How does installation work?

What value do I get?

Any customer currently constrained with a limit lower than their inverter capacity will have the ability to earn more with flexible exports. In a recent flexible exports trial by South Australia Power Networks, customers consistently reported earning more through their feed-in tariff. The greater the gap between inverter capacity and export limit, the greater the opportunity for gains.

Participants will also receive a free flexible solar export connection and $500 in gift cards for completing three trial surveys.

I’m a trial participant. What should I do if I receive a message saying my inverter is disconnected from the network?

How do I read my monthly trial report?

Your monthly trial report will include an image, like this:

The following explanations may help to understand the graph:

Allowable export capacity since joining flexible exports: this is the additional export capacity you have unlocked by joining the trial. This shows how much more you’re able to export with the flexible exports connection.

Previous export capacity on a fixed limit: before joining the Flexible Export trial, this was the maximum amount of energy you could export. This is your ‘default limit,’ and during the trial, your exports will never be restricted below this level.

There are two scenarios when flexible limits are applied to reduce solar exports. They are:

Export limits due to lost internet connection: exports will revert to your previous limit when we are unable to connect to your solar inverter. This may be due to your internet connection dropping out, or your inverter manufacturer’s platform being offline. During the trial, you will be contacted if your inverter is offline for more than seven days and supported to rectify the problem.
Export limits due to network conditions: exports may be reduced due to system works or network constraints in your local area. To reduce the impact of these events, planned system work is scheduled at night. Sometimes local conditions require a reduction in the amount of solar on the network; collecting real-world data on this challenge is a focus of the trial.

Powercor’s flexible solar exports trial

Flexible exports – a smarter way to connect solar

How flexible exports works