Source
https://www.auroraenergy.co.nz/ — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)
Aurora Energy — Asset Management Plan 2024–2034 (OT_109)
Case validation, not the pricing number
This is the NZ-DSO Asset Management Plan documenting the Upper Clutha DER solution (Aurora’s non-exclusive solarZero solar-battery + hot-water flexibility partnership) as a non-network solution that defers subtransmission capex on a voltage-constrained 66 kV circuit. It is strong qualitative + MVA-capacity evidence for why a consumer peak-shaving battery has value to the network — but it does not carry the RT_235 target’s $/kWh reward rate or CPD hours. Those are in Aurora’s separate Pricing Methodology (RT_359 below).
Summary
Aurora Energy’s 2024 Asset Management Plan (10-year plan, RY24–RY34) documents the Upper Clutha DER solution: since a 2019–20 procurement, Aurora has held a non-exclusive agreement with solarZero to use consumer-owned solar-battery systems, alongside Aurora’s own hot-water load channels, to reduce demand on the voltage-constrained Upper Clutha 66 kV subtransmission circuits during peak/constrained periods. Aurora classes this as a Flexibility Services non-network solution whose purpose is to defer large subtransmission investments, and cites it as an “industry leading example of innovation” using a value-stacking commercial model. The AMP quantifies the network context (autotransformers rated 36/30 MVA winter/summer; winter capability limited to 33 MVA by voltage under N-1) and distributed-solar uptake (12.7 MW total, 4% of system max demand, 2,360 connections), but it does not publish the flexibility-reward tariff. For the NI “value of a peak-shaving battery” input this source is the mechanism-and-case anchor (network capex deferral is the value driver), complementing RT_233 (Orion’s ~77/kVA network value) with a South Island DSO example; the specific /kWh figure must come from Aurora’s Pricing Methodology (RT_359).
Key claims
- claim: "Upper Clutha DER solution — the solarZero partnership. 'Through our procurement process in 2019–20, we engaged solarZero in a non-exclusive agreement to utilise their solar-battery systems. We developed a Flexibility Management plan that manages the operation of Aurora Energy's hot water channels and solarZero's solar-battery during constrained periods on the Upper Clutha subtransmission circuits.' The solution 'demonstrated the ability to utilise solar-batteries with hot water load to reduce load during constrained periods.'"
source_location: "Chapter 9 Drivers for Change, Theme 2: Efficient Subtransmission Network Provision (p.108)"
- claim: "Flexibility Services defer network investment (Table 9-6, Non-network solutions, verbatim). Aurora considers flexibility services for two purposes: '(1) To defer known short-term subtransmission expenditure. We have demonstrated with the Upper Clutha DER solution (with solarZero) that Flexibility Services can be utilised to assist in managing the demand during constrained periods which provides the opportunity to defer large investments. (2) To shape long-term demand to help defer LV and HV network investment.' Value stacking is 'the model we used for Upper Clutha capacity support' — DERs providing 'value stacked benefits for consumers, electricity distribution businesses, Transpower and NZ.'"
source_location: "Chapter 9 §9.6 Non-network solutions, Table 9-6 + Figure 9-11 (p.110)"
- claim: "The constrained asset the DER defers investment on. The Upper Clutha 66 kV subtransmission circuit takes supply from the Cromwell 33 kV GXP through Aurora's 33/66 kV autotransformers 'rated at 36/30 MVA (winter/summer)'; 'The winter rating is limited by voltage constraints to 33 MVA … the maximum load where the voltage is within the regulatory limits when one circuit is out-of-service'; the summer rating is limited to 29 MVA (line losses, N-1). 'Aurora has partnered non-exclusively with solarZero to provide support during peak demand periods. This is part of the CPP approved Upper Clutha DER solution.'"
source_location: "Chapter 10 Network Development, Table 10-10 (Cromwell GXP network gaps) — Upper Clutha 66 kV Subtransmission circuit row (p.124)"
- claim: "Consumer batteries reducing network peaks framed as industry-leading innovation. 'Our innovative and collaborative work with solarZero over the last few years to utilise consumer-owned battery technology to reduce peaks on the network is an industry leading example of innovation. This initiative required an innovative contract and systems operations capability to manage resources in real time.'"
source_location: "Chapter 6 Our Asset Management Approach, Investment approach to innovation (p.66–67)"
- claim: "Distributed solar penetration on the Aurora network. 'Total solar generation capacity is 12.7 MW, which equates to 4% of the system maximum demand with 2,360 connections. In the last five years, solar generation has grown 1.9 MW annually.' Cromwell GXP has the highest at 6.4 MW (annual increase to 2023 of 2.43 MW, incl. 990 kW of Devon Dairy). Small-scale (<10 kW) solar DG is connected to the LV network 'and at this stage have not resulted in power quality issues.' ~3,995 EVs on the network (NZTA registrations)."
source_location: "Chapter 9 Drivers for Change, Solar generation uptake / EV uptake (p.106–107)"
- claim: "Non-network-solution economics rationale (verbatim). 'When the network becomes constrained, spending on new infrastructure may not be the best option to relieve the constraint. Non-network solutions can enable deferral of much greater capital expenditure that is usually associated with network solutions. This provides value in terms of lower lifecycle cost, while enabling us to defer a decision when there is considerable uncertainty (such as regarding future load growth).'"
source_location: "Chapter 9 §9.6 Non-network solutions, opening paragraph (p.110)"Neobiome Intelligence relevance
This source is the case-and-mechanism anchor for the NI “value of a peak-shaving / peak-export battery” input, but it is deliberately NOT the source of the $/kWh number the RT_235 target was chasing. Three ties:
- I01 (financial/economic sufficiency) — the value driver, not the rate. The AMP states the mechanism explicitly: a consumer battery’s value to a constrained network is the deferral of “much greater capital expenditure” on subtransmission upgrades (“lower lifecycle cost”). This is the why behind a peak-battery credit and is a second NZ-DSO corroboration of the RT_233 Orion premise (network avoids capacity investment). What it does not give is the monetised per-kWh/per-kVA figure — so it supports the value cell’s rationale, not its value.
- D01 (renewable energy & storage) — real NZ DSO-orchestrated DER. A live, multi-year, CPP-approved deployment where consumer-owned solar-batteries + controllable hot-water load are dispatched by the DSO during constrained peaks. Concrete, current, South Island example of DER flexibility complementing (not replacing) the network — useful evidence for the model’s grid-tied premise and for the “battery earns network value only at coincident peak” logic.
- Capacity-constraint grounding. The 33 MVA (winter, N-1, voltage-limited) firm-capacity ceiling on the Upper Clutha 66 kV circuit is the physical quantity the DER is paid to relieve — useful context if the engine ever sizes a peak-export credit against a headroom-constrained feeder.
⚠ The RT_235 value cell is only partially served. The specific inputs (~1.50/kWh peak export, ~80 CPD hrs/yr, Control Period Demand) are **not present** in this AMP and must be sourced from Aurora's **Pricing Methodology** (RT_359 below) before any /kWh peak-battery figure is entered from Aurora.
Feeds d01_renewable_energy_storage and i01_financial_economic_sufficiency.
Research targets
Documents to retrieve
- RT_359 (doc) — Aurora Energy Pricing Methodology (current disclosure year). The document that actually carries Aurora’s Control Period Demand (CPD) structure and the flexibility/peak-export reward rate the RT_235 target described (~$1.50/kWh, ~80 CPD hrs/yr). The AMP references pricing only qualitatively (“exploring pricing as a tool for non-network support”, “cost-reflective pricing”); the numeric tariff is a separate Commerce Commission Information Disclosure publication.
doc, NI, feeds i01/d01. This is the document that closes the original RT_235 value cell.
Research gaps
- ⚠ Original RT_235 figures unverified: no
/kWh reward rate or "80 CPD hrs/yr" appears in this AMP. Do not enter an Aurora peak-battery/kWh figure into the model until the Pricing Methodology (RT_359) confirms it. - RT_360 (gap), NI — national picture: whether other NZ DSOs (beyond Orion RT_233 and Aurora) publish comparable non-network/flexibility value rates, to bound a national “value of peak battery to network” range rather than two point estimates.
Notes
Primary regulatory-disclosure document, read verbatim from the filed PDF (data_quality: verified). Single file. Retrieval provenance: none required — this is an authoritative Board-approved NZ-DSO Information Disclosure PDF, not an AI-prepared artifact.
Connections
Links to
EDT domains (1): D01: Renewable Energy & Storage Systems
SSI indicators (1): I01: Financial & Economic Self-Sufficiency
Referenced by
EDT domains (1): D01: Renewable Energy & Storage Systems
SSI indicators (1): I01: Financial & Economic Self-Sufficiency