A University of New South Wales pilot will test the ability of an artificial intelligence-powered energy system to help expand access to rooftop solar and battery storage for those living in apartments.
The new pilot combines an AI-powered energy system developed by researchers at UNSW Canberra with a Modular Power Portal System (MPPS) developed by industry partners Voltval and JT Solar which integrates rooftop solar power generation with shared battery storage for apartment buildings.
Backed by a $1.2 million grant from the Australian Department of Education’s Trailblazer Recycling & Clean Energy (TRaCE) program, the pilot will combine the two systems in order to better predict and improve energy usage across multiple properties – such as in apartment buildings and multi-unit dwellings – to make the platform smarter, more efficient, and ready for real-world use.
“Through this partnership, we will develop and validate advanced AI-enabled optimisation technologies that can intelligently coordinate shared solar and battery resources across multiple residents,” said Dr Ripon Chakrabortty, from the School of Systems & Computing at UNSW Canberra.
Australia currently leads the world in terms of rooftop solar uptake per capita, with approximately one in three Australian households playing host to rooftop solar panels and boasts some of the highest levels of distributed PV penetration across the globe.
