GreenSync unveils Decentralised Energy Exchange (deX)

Greensync
Dr Phil Blythe, founder and CEO of GreenSync

A decentralised energy exchange platform that allows customers, communities and utilities to trade energy has been unveiled.

The Decentralised Energy Exchange (deX) was officially launched by Greensync in Melbourne last night.

The deX platform is an open exchange where energy capacity can be transacted between businesses, households, communities and utilities.

Like any marketplace, deX software facilitates an exchange between market participants, ensuring open access that is safe, reliable, simple and transparent.

In front of more than 150 guests from across government, business and the energy sector, GreenSync CEO Dr Phil Blythe announced the 37 industry partners supporting deX and revealed the roadmap for the roll out of the marketplace.

“This is the first time that industry has come together in this way,” Dr Blythe said.

“This is an opportunity born from our current energy crisis, deX provides a framework to increase customer value, improve system reliability and manage the transition to a renewable energy future.

“We are acknowledging that our energy ecosystem has changed and now we need to come together and rework the system for everyone.”

deX brings distributed energy resources (DERs) online to deX participants, making them visible in the network and dispatchable when required.

Agreements can be formed and capacity from DERs can be aggregated to provide wholesale, network and system wide services.

Dr Blythe took the opportunity to also unveil the key streams of the deX platform, including deX connect, deX vision and deX markets, with the first release set for Q1 2018.

“deX is already live in application and changing the way we generate, trade and use energy, but there’s much more to come,” he said.

“We’re painting a vision for how we see deX playing an instrumental role allowing a framework for every industry partner and participant to be able to contract distributed resources similar to the way our wholesale markets work today.”

deX connect will see the release of an API protocol to allow open access for a range of technologies to plug into the deX platform.

The deX initiative will work with Energy Networks Australia on the development of national connection standards as well as other industry organisations including the Clean Energy Council (CEC).

Energy Networks Australia interim CEO Andrew Dillon said the transformation of the energy system required innovative solutions to harness the benefits of new technologies.

“Networks could use these types of platforms to pay for the use of household solar and storage as an alternative to building poles and wires,” Mr Dillon said.

“The software also has the ability to provide Networks with greater visibility of distributed energy resources to help manage the growing number of household solar and batteries connecting to the grid.”

deX vision will give market players DER visibility like never before with network utilities able to see assets as they come online, allowing for better coordination as DER penetration increases.

deX markets will allow electricity retailers and emerging energy service providers to buy and sell services from consumers and aggregate value for wholesale markets and allow infrastructure operators to procure services for system reliability and security.

In February 2017, funding for the deX concept was announced through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) following its initial development through A-Lab, the agency’s award-winning grid integration innovation lab.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht congratulated all involved in building the deX concept and is encouraged to see the first program coming to life out of A-Lab.

“deX is not just a success story for GreenSync and its partners, it’s also an achievement that ARENA feels some ownership of following its involvement in an early pilot session for A-Lab,” he said.

“ARENA’s A-Lab sessions have been important in bringing industry leaders together to facilitate breakthrough thinking on complex challenges facing the energy sector.

“As we head towards a renewable energy future, deX will become even more important in facilitating an energy network that will only become more complex in the way we buy and sell energy.”

GreenSync has already secured four deX projects with its existing partners.

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