Flexible Exports - Trial

From 2021-2023, we ran a flexible exports trial for residential solar PV. Across the trial, customers successfully exported many megawatts of residential rooftop solar energy back to the grid. This trial helped us take another step towards our vision of enabling as much renewable energy into the network as possible. This ARENA-funded trial also laid the foundations for CSIP-Aus adoption as part of the Victorian Government’s Emergency Backstop mechanism.

As a result of what we learnt during the trial, we have now implemented flexible connections for eligible constrained customers. We intend to increase this offering to make it available to any eligible customers in the future.

For any questions about our flexible exports offer, please email flexible.exports@ausnetservices.com.au.


About the trial

After a record-breaking number of solar installations in 2020, one-in-four Australian homes had rooftop solar. The energy being generated by the rapid uptake places stress on the network and an increasing number of customers are having their solar exporting capacity limited. Our eligible customers who had zero, or almost zero export limits, were able to receive up to 5kW in flexible exports during the trial.

Supporting two-way distribution

The electricity network was designed over 100 years ago. It was built for a one-way flow to transport power into homes and businesses. Rooftop solar exports force a two-way flow which puts stress on the network and causes congestion. To keep our network stable, some customers in congested areas now have low or zero solar export limits.

Flexible exports provides an alternative to these restrictions.

What are flexible exports?

Flexible exports are an alternative to fixed exports, which limit the amount of excess solar that you can export to the grid. Solar flexible exports allow us to monitor and adjust rooftop solar exports based on available capacity. This method allows more Victorian solar customers to export their excess solar without putting pressure on the network.


How did the trial work?

The solar flexible exports trial allowed participating households to export up to 5kW of excess solar energy to the grid. Using smart solar inverters, we balanced customers’ exports against local network supply and demand. By doing this, we can begin to reduce excess strain on the network.

We partnered with SA Power Networks to trial this approach with partial funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Frequently asked questions