The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is partnering with Monash University and technology partner Indra Australia to trial a microgrid on Monash’s Clayton campus that will see the campus powered by renewable energy.
On behalf of the Australian Government, ARENA is set to provide $2.97 million in funding to Monash University and Indra Australia for the project.
The pilot project will test the microgrid across the Monash University Clayton campus in Melbourne’s south-east, utilising Indra’s Ingrid ‘Advanced Grid Management’ (AGM) software platform. The microgrid will be operated as a grid-connected smart embedded network containing a variety of distributed energy resources (DER) including up to 1 Megawatt of rooftop solar, 20 buildings with automated energy management systems, 1 Megawatt hour of battery storage and electric vehicle charging stations.
The $7.1 million project is forecast to provide for the deployment and integration of Indra’s software platform and enable Monash to demonstrate how a 100 per cent renewable electricity system can operate reliably, provide value to consumers and reduce strain on the energy network.
ARENA CFO Ian Kay said the project will use Monash University as a ‘living laboratory’ that will help universities form their own microgrids and take control of their energy usage.
“Universities use a significant amount of power during the day, Indra and Monash have offered a solution that can reduce peak demand and place the education sector on a path towards renewables,” he explained.
Findings from the project will help inform ARENA’s work around DER, as Australia moves towards an increasingly distributed energy system.
Indra Australia’s Energy Solutions Manager Giovanni Polizzi said the aim is to forge strong partnerships with organisations developing cutting-edge technologies.
“It will allow Monash to control and optimise when and how energy is used across the campus,” he shared.