The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has allocated $20.8m to develop a commercial solution that will operate distributed energy resources (DER) within the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) in Western Australia.

Called Jupiter, ARENA CEO Darren Miller said this will be critical for integrating DER into the SWIS without compromising the reliability and security of the state’s main power system.

DERs are small-scale devices that can either use, generate, or store electricity, and form a part of the local distribution system. They include renewable generation, energy storage, electric vehicles, and technology that consumers can use at their premises to manage their electricity demand.

“Project Jupiter will be the first live DER marketplace in Australia that is integrated with the wholesale market, marking an important milestone in Australia’s renewable transition,” Miller said.

“By 2028, all new distributed energy resources (DER) connected to WA’s network will be able to participate in a [virtual power plants], allowing households to unlock greater value from their energy investments,” said Western Power Head of Distribution Energy Transition Andrew Blaver.