“The Morrison Government is backing technology to empower households to become active participants in the ACT’s electricity market – helping to address network risks and reduce emissions," said Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Tim Wilson today.

“Electricity networks face congestion risks from increasing sources of distributed generation, that’s why the Morrison Government is investing $2.9m for Evoenergy to lead Project Converge - a program to alleviate electricity network congestion and increase network support in the ACT," Assistant Minister Wilson said. 

Over the next two years, Project Converge will develop new capabilities that will allow ACT residents to use their home solar and battery storage systems to contribute to energy reliability and security and support a lower emissions power grid. The program will offer insights that can be applied around Australia.

“Our vision is to make households part of Australia’s climate solution," Assistant Minister Wilson said. 

“Our government has a strong commitment to ensuring that we have the energy programs to improve and manage electricity network congestion at peak times and support Australians who are already using solar panels, electric vehicles, and battery storage systems.”

Project Converge will explore ways that electricity networks can accommodate the continued uptake of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and two-way flows of energy, while managing the security of the network in a cost-effective way. This supports the Distributed Energy Integration Plan, a key priority agreed by Energy Ministers as part of their post-2025 National Electricity Market reform.

Project Converge is led by Evoenergy in collaboration with the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at the Australian National University, Zepben and the ACT Government. 

ARENA has previously provided over $100 million to DER projects which support the reliability and security of the power grid within efficient market structures. 

ACT solar and battery owners interested in participating in Project Converge can visit Evoenergy’s project page. 

Media contact: 

Assistant Minister Wilson's office 02 6277 2392