Horizon Power’s Smart Connect Solar program has reached its final milestone and has now been expanded to all towns in the utility’s service area.
Enabled by Horizon Power’s Distributed Energy Resource Management System – DERMS – Smart Connect Solar has been completed ahead of schedule, enabling the regional energy provider to achieve its strategic goal of ensuring there are zero customer refusals when connecting rooftop solar by 2025.
The program has now been launched in its final eight towns – Esperance, Menzies, Onslow, Fitzroy Crossing, Yungngora, Marble Bar, Kununurra and Lake Argyle.
The technology aims to provide thousands more households and businesses in Horizon Power’s service area with the opportunity to install rooftop solar and access the benefits of renewable energy – including power bill savings.
Smart Connect Solar has delivered critical technical capabilities that enable Horizon Power to remove solar hosting capacity constraints. Previously, the number of solar installations had to be limited to ensure the security and reliability of power supply.
To support the Western Australian Government’s commitment to delivering clean energy solutions for regional Western Australia, the technology is increasing access to renewable energy for these towns, while improving the safety and stability of the electricity network.
DERMS technology analyses weather patterns, power system conditions and renewable energy resources and uses this data to coordinate power flows to ensure the electricity network can operate safely and reliably at all times – maximising renewable energy output and benefits for Horizon Power’s customers.
In addition to rooftop solar, DERMS will enable Horizon Power to safely and reliably integrate and balance energy across customer energy resources like batteries and electric vehicles.
The Western Australian Government invested $6.36 million into the project, which was launched in Carnarvon in February 2024.
Horizon Power CEO, Stephanie Unwin, said the rollout of Smart Connect Solar was a significant milestone and demonstration of the regional energy provider’s commitment to customer-led decarbonisation, supporting a clean energy future for all Western Australians and promoting customer choice and ability to reduce their energy bills.
“Horizon Power established the strategic goal of zero customer refusals when connecting rooftop solar by 2025, to solve the technical challenges preventing customer access to rooftop solar,” Ms Unwin said.
“Achieving this goal creates more customer choice to participate in renewable energy and ways to reduce energy bills. The advanced DERMS technology underpinning Smart Connect Solar will also improve the safety and stability of our systems as they evolve to incorporate greater levels of clean energy.
“We are proud to have completed the rollout of Smart Connect Solar ahead of schedule, so that thousands of additional customers can reap the benefits of renewables, including reduced energy bills, earlier than expected.”
Featured image: Horizon Power
