Australian Power Quality and Reliability Centre (APQRC) Research Coordinator, Sean Elphick and Research Fellow, Jason David attended the 4th iteration of the Conference on the Integration of Distributed Energy Resources (CIDER) earlier this year. The two-day conference was held on May 10 - 11 in Adelaide, South Australia and consisted of delegates and presentations from across the electricity supply industry. CIDER has a particular focus on distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar PV, residential batteries and renewable energy throughout the Australian electricity network.
Sean delivered a presentation that reviewed the impact that the massive uptake of roof-top solar has had on power quality levels in recent years (‘The impact of distributed generation on power quality in low voltage networks’). Whilst Jason presented an overview of a recently published APQRC report - Voltage Control and PV Hosting Capacity of Distribution Networks, investigating the latest processes and technology to identify and improve the capability of networks to integrate high levels of rooftop PV solar.
The remainder of the presentations included case studies and experiences from industry and researchers alike. Common themes were the difficulties that we have experienced in recent years regarding the large uptake of rooftop PV solar throughout Australia. However, many speakers also identified the opportunities available to leverage assets and technology to maximise the use of existing infrastructure whilst ensuring prices remain affordable for the end-user during the energy transition currently underway within the Australian power system.
This was the 4th iteration of the CIDER conference. It is hosted by CIGRE Australia, an international community of professionals, established in 1921 in France. CIGRE is dedicated to the collaboration and knowledge sharing of state-of-the-art in power system expertise.