EnergyAustralia and Redback Technologies partner on energy

EnergyAustralia will invest AU$9.3 million in Redback Technologies, aiming to help Australians take control of their energy consumption.

Under the partnership, EnergyAustralia will promote the Redback Generation 2 smart hybrid solar inverter system to its 1.7 million customers around Australia.

Australians are transitioning to lower emission energy systems, with one in five homes around the country now equipped with solar. The new partnership aims to bring the environmental and economic benefits of solar technology to many more homes in the coming months.

Redback’s solar inverter system is scalable and can be run from a smartphone. It is also battery and solar panel agnostic, meaning that it works with existing systems. The technology uses machine learning to gather intelligence over time, learning from user preferences as well as drawing data from external factors like the weather.

Philip Livingston, founder and managing director of Redback Technologies, said the investment will allow Redback to continue developing smarter technologies.

“Our partnership with EnergyAustralia significantly accelerates Redback’s technology roadmap and strategic plan for leading the disruptive change required for mass adoption of renewables,” he said.

Andrew Perry, EnergyAustralia NextGen executive, said the investment reflects the energy retailer’s commitment to giving consumers more control over their energy consumption in ways that help households save money and reduce carbon emissions.

“We know electricity costs are a concern for many households and the ability to manage consumption is a key to keeping bills low.  With the Redback system the customer can make the most of the energy captured on their own rooftops — they decide if they want to use the energy right away, store that energy or even sell it to the electricity grid,” Perry said.

The inverter includes Redback’s cloud-enabled intelligent system for analytics and remote control, the Ouija Board. Making use of the Internet of Things and technology provides options for home owners and commercial users.

“Democratising access to clean energy by shifting reliance to decentralised renewable generation, whereby allowing consumers to monitor, store and control their own solar energy assets as a means of ensuring power, is there when they need it,” said Livingston.

Redback’s solar solution is hosted on Microsoft’s Azure IoT Suite cloud platform. It runs on a cloud-enabled intelligent system for analytics and remote control, so households can control when they use their energy such as during evening demand peaks.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Daniel Schoenen