Microgrid trial to help university transition to renewables

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has agreed to provide $2.97 million in funding to Monash University and technology partner Indra Australia to trial a microgrid on Monash’s Clayton campus.

The Monash Smart Energy City project builds on Monash University’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2030. The pilot project will test the microgrid across the Monash University Clayton campus in Melbourne’s south-east, using 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 MW of rooftop solar, 20 buildings with automated energy management systems, 1 MWh of battery storage and electric vehicle charging stations.

The $7.1 million project will provide for the deployment and integration of Indra’s software platform and enable Monash to demonstrate how a 100% renewable electricity system can operate reliably, provide value to consumers and reduce strain on the energy network.

ARENA CFO Ian Kay said this project would help Monash University transition to renewable energy.

“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,” Kay said.

Findings from the project will help inform ARENA’s work around DER, as Australia moves towards an increasingly distributed energy system. ARENA has also recently launched the Distributed Energy Integration Program with energy market authorities, industry bodies and consumer associations.

Indra Australia Energy Solutions Manager Giovanni Polizzi said: “We are pleased to be a key technology partner in this leading initiative in which Indra’s intelligence leverages edge computing using both centralised and distributed components to monitor and control distributed grid elements in real time. It will allow Monash to control and optimise when and how energy is used across the campus.”

Monash’s Net Zero Initiative Program Director, Scott Ferraro, said: “Through the Net Zero Initiative, we will be sourcing 100% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

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