The ShineHub Virtual Power Plant

ShineHub was one of the first solar businesses in Australia to focus on battery sales, rather than just taking the easy road and selling heavily subsidised (by the government) panel systems. From our humble beginnings in 2015 to present day, we have over 6,500+ solar battery installations in Australia (NSW, SA, VIC, QLD). The majority of which are networked and connected to the grid and the FCAS energy markets through our Virtual Power Plant. 

One of the key reasons for our early focus on solar batteries was to enable us to be at the forefront of investment in the development of Virtual Power Plant technology. In fact we were part of some of the earliest VPP trials in Australia which formed the backbone of where the technology has evolved to today. So you can be sure that the ShineHub VPP is the real deal!

One of our key differentiators is the ShineHub Virtual Power Plant

Our Virtual Power Plant isn’t just an innovative way to evolve the Australian energy landscape; it’s a testament to our commitment to keep every ShineHub solar battery system installed in the homes of our customers operating at peak capacity. 

If your solar battery system fails, so do we. Maintaining a battery fleet operating at peak capacity, with low failure rates is crucial for our VPP to operate efficiently. If our customers’ systems face issues, our VPP is at stake. That’s because in order to operate our VPP we have to meet some very strict rules and tolerances imposed by regulators, grid operators and the government, which if we fail to deliver our end of the bargain, we are at risk of some serious fines and penalties. 

Our VPP software and algorithms need to be able to react (in milliseconds) to grid energy demand and send energy back to the grid from our fleet of batteries to help keep it stable (blackout prevention). 

Our VPP also has an indirect positive impact on energy prices as a whole. By using energy from our customer’s batteries, it helps keep other dirtier and more expensive fossil fuel generation from being activated in the network when there are grid fluctuations. 

To put it in context, when a peaking gas power plant kicks in to meet a compromised grid demand, it can cost 100s of 1000s of dollars to operate over a very short time period. This leads to pressure on energy prices as the energy retailers have to recoup their money from – yes you guessed it – you, their customers.  

This interconnected relationship between your solar battery, the VPP and the grid, means we keep laser focused on continuous investment, R&D, sourcing the right products that work best with our strict VPP demands, but most importantly, maintaining and optimising your solar battery system to operate seamlessly now and in the future to take care of your home electricity needs. 

That’s great but what’s in it for me? 

Because our VPP is so important to our business, we offer some key benefits to customers who join the ShineHub VPP. 

$2000 VPP battery subsidy: All our battery systems include our own VPP subsidy of $2000 immediately making our battery systems more affordable from day-1.

Earn up to $300 extra in passive income from your battery: When we discharge energy from your battery (during a VPP event when the grid needs energy delivered fast to stay stable), we pay you for the energy we take. 

Our VPP payments have been designed so you are not out of pocket. All VPP customers get paid $0.55 / kWh for energy taken from their battery. 99.9% of the time that’s significantly more than you would have to pay for any grid energy you would have to buy from your retailer to make up for any shortfalls. Over the life of a 10 year system, you could earth up to an extra $3000 making the value proposition even more attractive. 

Retailer independent VPP model: Unlike a lot of VPPs on the markets that are tied to being on a specific energy plan or with a specific retailer to get the benefit, our VPP is 100% retailer independent.  

This means that all our customers have the freedom to chop and change their energy retailer and plan as often as they like to get the best grid energy deal. 

In the current market of highly inflated energy prices that only seem to be getting worse every year this is a game changing benefit. We were the first VPP operator to adopt and operationalise this model and we will continue to do so. No penalties in sight, no being kicked off the VPP when you are not loyal to your grid energy retailer in sight. 

Ready to take the next step and go solar with a business you can trust? 

If you are looking for a trusted solar partner for your solar project, we encourage you to get in contact with us to see how you can make the switch to solar. We are confident that you won’t be disappointed. 

Get a quote today and set up an over the phone consultation. 

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