that looks like a good idea, worth exploring ...
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Australia Why you should be able to buy your neighbour’s solar output, without paying interstate pricesIn a sun-drenched nation like Australia, rooftop solar has boomed, but the benefits haven’t always been evenly distributed.
A new study at Deakin University is looking to change that by testing a concept that could revolutionise how we generate, trade, and use electricity: virtual energy networks (VENs).
A virtual energy network is an online platform that lets everyday consumers—households and businesses—buy and sell solar energy between themselves.
Funded by Energy Consumers Australia and powered by the Powertracer software platform, the Deakin-led trial is exploring how households and small businesses across the National Electricity Market (NEM) can trade solar energy directly with one another—buying and selling electricity like they might swap vegetables over the back fence.
Whether it’s selling excess rooftop solar to a neighbour, a local café, or even your own second property across town, VENs offer a more democratic, decentralised energy market. They also introduce a new level of flexibility in how consumers interact with the grid—though outdated tariff structures may still stand in the way.
Not only do VENs give households without solar the opportunity to access solar power, they can also provide cheaper power for buyers and better prices for rooftop solar producers than standard retailer feed-in tariffs.
“It makes sense that you’re looking to get a better deal than what you would be buying under your usual contract,” Associate Professor Dr Andrea La Nauze, the lead researcher on the Deakin trial, says in the latest episode of the SwitchedOn Australia podcast, published on our sister site, One Step Off the Grid.
While some councils, schools, and multi-site businesses currently use VENs to share solar energy, La Nauze says most energy retailers haven’t yet extended the model to the broader residential market.
Currently recruiting up to 400 households and businesses, the Deakin trial is open to customers of Energy Locals, a retailer with a transparent business model. Rather than profiting from energy usage, Energy Locals charges a flat subscription fee and passes energy costs on at wholesale rates.
