Consumer-Led Transition: Australia's World-Leading Distributed Energy Resource Integration Efforts

It's a sunny spring DAY in South Australia. A light breeze is cooling the coastal state capital of Adelaide as approximately 260,000 distributed solar photovoltaic (D-PV) systems on residential and business rooftops generate electricity, setting a new state record for the lowest minimum electrical demand for the third time this season. All looks peaceful throughout the suburbs. D-PVs form an irregular yet persistent patchwork across one-third of the houses in the state. Most consumers are going about their day without a glance at the D-PV panels on these roofs. However, the mild temperature and bountiful sunshine lead the D-PV generation to climb, causing the voltage to creep higher and power to flow in reverse across large swathes of the distribution network. Some D-PVs are tripping off, unbeknownst to their owners and the local network operator.