{"id":40652,"date":"2020-06-22T12:19:34","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T01:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=40652"},"modified":"2020-06-29T16:32:52","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T06:02:52","slug":"network-upgrades-beat-curtailment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/network-upgrades-beat-curtailment\/","title":{"rendered":"ARENA Study: Network Upgrades Better Than Solar Curtailment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"citi

More solar power on the grid has its challenges. Lots of people (and governments) are claiming the challenges can be solved with batteries and inverter control. Those solutions have a part to play, but a new study suggests there is important work to be done upgrading local networks.<\/p><\/div>\n

While electricity distributors emphasise the importance of seeing \u201cbehind the meter\u201d to manage the impact of renewable energy on low voltage (LV) networks, a study published by ARENA suggests network upgrades are going to be more effective in the long term. <\/p>\n

As we\u2019ve\u00a0discussed recently<\/a>, utilities will increasingly need to look behind the meter so they can dial back the power fed from household solar PV and spare the low voltage network from unwanted voltage rises.<\/p>\n

The undesirable side-effect of this is that curtailment reduces the money the homeowner makes from their solar power installation – and unless something is done, as PV penetration rises so will curtailment at times of peak generation.<\/p>\n

A study authored by Citipower\/Powercor (CPPAL) and published by ARENA, \u201cFuture Grid For Distributed Energy\u201d (PDF<\/a>) says a range of LV network upgrades to manage grid voltages from the transformer side will provide important voltage management into the future.<\/p>\n

The report is designed to give the industry tools to help forecast the hosting capacity of their LV networks, and to identify the mitigations that best keep grids stable as distributed energy resources (DER) become ubiquitous.<\/p>\n

The report notes networks are already experiencing the effects of DER; particularly rooftop solar PV, increasingly augmented with behind-the-meter batteries. As well as the well-known voltage rise issues (too much power from the rooftops can take the network voltage above its 230V-plus-10% maximum), the CPPAL report also mentions some distribution network assets can suffer \u201cthermal issues\u201d when power is flowing upstream from the household.<\/p>\n

The report says:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Australia, these issues are resulting in reduced power quality, involuntarily reduced PV generation (also known as \u2018curtailment\u2019) and distribution businesses sometimes delaying or refusing prospective PV connections\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Faced with the question \u201chow much DER can we install on our network?\u201d, it looks like the industry\u2019s answer right now is \u201cwho knows?\u201d, so CPPAL\u2019s study is designed to give the industry a consistent answer:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis study\u2019s purpose is to develop a replicable methodology that CPPAL and other energy industry stakeholders can use to improve their understanding of LV networks\u2019 PV hosting capacity. This study also explores efficient enablement of further PV uptake without risking quality of supply to customers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

CPPAL (and its partner in preparing the report, ENEA Consulting) settled on three metrics:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The percentage of the maximum reference PV penetration level when the first breach of the maximum voltage limit or equipment thermal constraint occurs on the LV network.<\/li>\n
  2. The annual average hours per day in breach of a voltage limit or equipment thermal rating as PV penetration increases.<\/li>\n
  3. The increase in annual maximum voltage level as solar PV penetration increases.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    CPPAL selected ten low-voltage networks as representative of the more than 80,000 LV networks it operates. It\u2019s also worth observing the distributor reported nearly 150,000 new solar panel installations in 2019 alone.<\/p>\n

    As we know, all that new solar power capacity landing on the LV network is causing trouble. In the report, CPPAL said seven of the ten LV networks experienced power quality issues with just 25% of the network\u2019s baseline PV hosting capacity installed. Just two networks reached maximum penetration with no issues.<\/p>\n

    The modelling also showed six networks would spend as much as eight hours a day in breach of voltage parameters at 40% penetration, while just three would reach PV saturation with low breach conditions (just 10 minutes a day).<\/p>\n

    Voltage rise would be a problem on nine out of the ten networks. The modelling suggested that if solar power inputs are entirely unmanaged, at penetrations above 40% three networks would experience a theoretical voltage rise of 50V, and four would experience a 6.5V rise at saturation.<\/p>\n

    Mitigations<\/h2>\n

    The project also assessed five mitigation measures:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Upgrading transformers with extra boost\/buck taps to change the output voltage, to cope with changing network conditions;<\/li>\n
    • Adding an on-load tap changer (OLTC) to a distribution substation transformer, for automatic voltage adjustments; and<\/li>\n
    • Adding a low voltage regulator to manage the voltage on the LV network;<\/li>\n
    • At the customer side, adding a smart inverter to manage what\u2019s sent to the grid; and<\/li>\n
    • Batteries behind the meter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      In this specific context, mitigating grid voltage rise, household batteries were assessed as offering little value – they have only a small impact on managing voltage rise or reducing time in breach.<\/p>\n

      The report found the smart inverter is at its most valuable in LV networks with low DER penetration. It\u2019s a low-cost solution that\u2019s easy to implement.<\/p>\n

      At high DER penetration, the report found, network-side mitigations are necessary:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Transformer upgrades and OLTCs support higher DER penetration before a network reaches a breach condition; and<\/li>\n
      • At high DER penetration, automatic voltage regulators are the best way to manage LV network voltage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        While electricity distributors emphasise the importance of seeing \u201cbehind the meter\u201d to manage the impact of renewable energy on low voltage (LV) networks, a study published by ARENA suggests network upgrades are going to be more effective in the long term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":40697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-policy","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nARENA Study: Network Upgrades Better Than Solar 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Powercor is the DNSP for central and western Victoria, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powercor network upgrades and solar energy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/powercor-solar-network-upgrades.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/powercor-solar-network-upgrades.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/powercor-solar-network-upgrades.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/powercor-solar-network-upgrades.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/powercor-solar-network-upgrades.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43731,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/flexible-solar-exports-mb1707\/","url_meta":{"origin":40652,"position":2},"title":"ARENA\/SAPN Announce Flexible Solar Exports Trial","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"October 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A project seeking to help integrate more rooftop solar into Australia's grid and increase export limits is about to kick off. In some parts of Australia solar owners are unable to export surplus electricity they generate, or only a fraction of it, due to network constraints resulting from very high\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Flexible solar exports trial","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/flexible-solar-exports.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/flexible-solar-exports.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/flexible-solar-exports.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/flexible-solar-exports.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/flexible-solar-exports.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":92583,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/sa-solar-export-tariffs-mb3203\/","url_meta":{"origin":40652,"position":3},"title":"Solar Export Tariff For South Australia Soon","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"June 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"South Australia's electricity distributor SA Power Networks (SAPN) has announced it will be introducing an export tariff \u2014sometimes incorrectly referred to as a 'sun tax' \u2014 from July 1 this year. 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SAPN has been grappling with managing increased\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar exports in South Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/sa-export-tariffs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/sa-export-tariffs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/sa-export-tariffs.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/sa-export-tariffs.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/sa-export-tariffs.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71693,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arena-hot-water-solar-mb2841\/","url_meta":{"origin":40652,"position":4},"title":"ARENA Gets Into Hot Water","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"February 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is stumping up funds for a trial involving controlling hot water loads to take advantage of cheap surplus solar energy. Heating water is an energy-intensive exercise. Around a quarter of electricity consumed by Australian households with a standard electric hot water system goes towards\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Electric hot water system Demand Flexibility Trial","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/hot-water-trial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/hot-water-trial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/hot-water-trial.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/hot-water-trial.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/hot-water-trial.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20040,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-storage-cefc-arena-mb0506\/","url_meta":{"origin":40652,"position":5},"title":"More Backing For Small-Scale Solar + Storage From ARENA\/CEFC","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"March 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Both the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and Clean Finance Corporation have announced initiatives for further supporting the adoption of small-scale solar power, battery storage and energy efficiency. CEFC\/Mirvac Joint Initiative On Energy Efficient Housing In what's been called an Australian clean energy first, a joint initiative between Australian property developer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ARENA and CEFC - solar and battery storage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/arena-cefc-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/arena-cefc-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/arena-cefc-solar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/arena-cefc-solar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40652"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40937,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40652\/revisions\/40937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}