A nationally awarded power company, Reposit Power, has surged ahead thanks in part to the 16 ANU alumni on its staff.
The Canberra based company has developed world-first technology that makes the electricity system cheaper, cleaner and more reliable and protects network assets via virtual power. It also allows energy utilities to use consumer-owned batteries.
The co-founder and former Chief Technical Officer, Dr Lachlan Blackhall, has a PhD in engineering and applied mathematics from ANU. He pioneered the development of distributed control systems to monitor, optimise and control grid-connected energy storage.
Reposit Power recently received the Sir William Hudson Award, the highest honour for a project awarded by Engineers Australia. The award was in recognition of a virtual power plant built in Canberra from customer-owned residential battery setups.
The virtual power plants are built by grouping lots of individual homeowners' solar battery setups together to sell energy back to the grid when it's needed most.
ANU alumnus and Head of Partner Value at Reposit Power, Alan Reid, says this is the first time that a virtual power plant has been used to dispatch more than one megawatt of energy back into the grid.
"This is a really important milestone because it not only unlocks the value of the virtual power plant in the commercial markets; it also delivers tangible benefits to the networks", says Alan.
The first and largest of its kind in the world, the Canberra Virtual Power Plant Project solves grid challenges that arise from wholesale market volatility, peaks in demand and generation, and poor power quality.
"We have a really fantastic opportunity to use what we're doing with consumers, the local distributor and retailers to set the benchmarks which will formulate best practice in this industry," says Alan.
