ARENA provides $567k funding for AGL price intensity forecasting project

AGL Energy has been developing and operating the A$1.78m project.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has provided $567,000 (A$864,000) of funding to Australia-based energy company AGL for the development and demonstration of a price intensity forecasting mechanism to support dynamic load flexing for all sectors.

The project will be assigned four Melbourne-based sites and use their price intensity forecasts to oversee the energy loads, which will free around 25 MW of flexible load for lessened pressure on the grid.

The report by ARENA, “The Role of Flexible Demand in Australia’s Energy Future”, has found potential sources of demand flexibility, including retail and commercial products, dynamic tariffs, industrial loads, and market hedges.

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With the findings, the two-year AGL project will examine the source for their demand flexibility and develop a pre-dispatch forecast of solar and wind generation. Through the tool, trial customers will be allowed to assess the price signals and load flexibility without any wholesale market risk.

The project has aimed to promote a smarter electricity grid, altering the demand away from peak periods, lessening the demand during critical times, lowering costs for energy, and allowing seamless integration of renewables into the grid.

1 USD = 1.52 AUD