November-December , 2020 | @ green
ENERGY
17
Democratising electricity with P2P energy trading
This new Internet of Energy will help to further advance the renewable energy agenda and democratise energy , says Dr Wei-nee Chen
By Khirtini K Kumaran
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As some of you may know , the topic of P2P energy trading is very close to my heart . While I was with Sustainable Energy Development Auhority Malaysia ( SEDA ), my colleagues and I initiated the country ’ s first pilot run of the P2P energy trading . We had TNBX on board as the electricity retailer and the P2P platform was provided by Power Ledger . The sandbox trial lasted for eight months commencing November last year . I truly believe this new Internet of Energy will help to further advance the renewable energy agenda and democratise energy ”.
These were the opening words of Dr Wei-nee Chen , Vice-President of New Energy Ventures , Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad , the moderator of the Asean Super 8 Virtual Connect Exhibition 2020 ’ s session entitled “ Internet of Energy ( IoE ) – The Integration of Decentralized Renewable Energy with Peer to Peer Electricity System .
Joining the session were panellists Ir Nirinder Singh Johl ( Managing Director of TNBX Sdn Bhd ), Martin Lim ( CEO of Electrify Pte Ltd ), Dr Jemma Green ( Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Power Ledger ) and Dr Jay Mariyappan ( Head of New Energy from Petronas ).
What is P2P energy trading ?
P2P energy trading is the buying and selling of energy between prosumers and consumers . Prosumers are those who produce and consume electricity . The P2P energy trading allows those with excess renewable energy ( typically solar ) to sell their electricity through the grid to other consumers . This form of electricity is typically sold at competitive prices compared to regulated electricity tariff .
Although energy arbitrage is an incentive for participants in the P2P energy trading , Nirinder shared on the greater benefits of this trading which included balancing of
local generation and demand including potential postponement of grid investments by system operators .
Additionally , the P2P energy trading empowers consumers with greater choices , and reduce potential market power from some players .
TNBX ’ s earlier experiences in the trial P2P energy trading highlighted a few more areas that needed addressing before live implementation . These include legal and regulatory provision for the P2P energy trading , technology dependency ( e . g . blockchain ), and security and privacy with trading data .
On the way forward , Nirinder suggested a few ideas to roll out the P2P energy trading which includes increasing the limit of solar PV capacity from 75 per cent of maximum demand to 100 per cent capacity or as per rooftop size , to promote self-consumption , then sell excess to the community and the solar output is to ease the distribution network so there should be zero or minimal export to transmission grid .
Electrify Pte Ltd , a Singapore-based energy company , introduced Synergy , a P2P energy trading platform that pairs prosumers and consumers in real-time energy trades on a utility grid .
Martin explained : " Synergy empowers the utility to pair and match consumers to energy resources such as rooftop solar and battery systems . It also allows the utility to develop new business models such as virtual power plants ( VPPs ) and community systems ."
He also mentioned that by deploying such platforms and systems it allows for more sustainable and responsible energy generation within the market .
" By providing decentralised generation and trade of energy as well as a better return for the system owners , it encourages more investments into renewable energy .”
Electrify ’ s P2P energy trading has begun commercial pilot in Singapore since August 2020 , making Singapore the second Asean country after Thailand to implement this initiative on a commercial basis . Aside from Thailand and Singapore , Electrify is also present in Japan and Malaysia .
Across the Indian Ocean to Western Australia , Power Ledger is another significant P2P energy trading platform provider . Jemma shared on the new energy paradigm which will result in greater distributed energy generation systems such as solar PV and balancing of energy provided by batteries and demand response underpinned by digital technologies such as the blockchain .
According to Jemma , the future electricity is not just limited to P2P energy trading but a rise of actors in the electricity space which includes energy storage as a service , balancing the grid and providing ancillary services .
Aside from the P2P energy trading , Power Ledger is also extending the platform to renewable energy certificates ( RECs ) trading . Today , Power Ledger is present in Australia , Thailand , India , France , US and various European countries .
Both Power Ledger and Electrify may be involved in TNBX ' s trial run on the P2P energy trading next year .
Petronas decided to step into new business areas that could help the company through the energy transition .
“ This is particularly crucial as Petronas has recently declared our aspirations to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 ,” said Dr Jay Mariyappan .
With the nett-zero commitment , Petronas aspires to increase consumption of electricity from renewable energy . In this regard , ability to do P2P energy trading will be helpful to achieve their decarbonising goals in their operations and having access to the grid will be key to enable the trading to take place .
“ One of the areas was new energy and Petronas set up the Gas and New Energy Division in April 2019 ," shared Jay .
" We see this area of decentralised renewable energy as a key growth area for Petronas and how that gets integrated into systems and for solutions for customers is crucial .
" We launched M + by Petronas ( M +) in October 2019 into the Malaysian market . We provide on-site solar , off-site solar , battery storage and hybrid solutions . We also have the Hawk AI Energy and Data Monitoring Solution , and this is where we use the IoE to provide better solutions for our customers ."
Jay concluded that we were living in an exciting era whereby green energy had become so competitive and the P2P energy trading is feasible . The next steps are to have regulations that enable the implementation of the P2P energy trading , not just within the country but also cross border .
Wei-nee closed the interesting discussion with an important reminder that climate change was our moral responsibility and in that regard , we should leverage on the digital space to accelerate energy transition . — @ green