South Australian energy management innovator OptiGrid has finalised a landmark partnership with Hepburn Energy, Australia’s pioneering community-owned wind farm, to deploy advanced artificial intelligence for battery and energy market optimisation.
Hepburn Energy, operating from Leonard Hill northwest of Melbourne since 2011, has been at the forefront of community renewables, making Daylesford and its surrounds the nation’s first zero-energy town.
However, like many Australian wind and solar farms, Hepburn’s operations have been increasingly hampered by volatile wholesale energy prices.
“When Hepburn Energy is exposed to negative wholesale prices, it has to suspend operations,” said OptiGrid CEO Sahand Karimi.
Despite the 4.1MW wind farm delivering substantial benefits to its 2,000 members and the wider community, these interruptions have delayed Hepburn’s ambition to transition the Shire to zero-net emissions by 2030.
To address these challenges, Hepburn Energy has chosen OptiGrid’s OptiBidder platform to manage a new 5MWh battery being deployed at the wind farm.
OptiBidder leverages AI and machine learning to manage energy market bidding for batteries and related renewable assets, maximising revenue while adhering to market rules and technical constraints.
“Hepburn Energy’s existing 4.1MW wind farm has delivered great benefits to its 2,000 members and the broader community, but the interruptions have delayed its goal of transitioning the Shire to zero-net emissions by 2030.
“To address this, Hepburn has selected OptiGrid’s OptiBidder platform to manage the operation of a new 5MWh battery being deployed at its wind farm,” Karimi explained.
The deployment will make Hepburn Energy the first community hybrid wind and battery facility to connect into the National Energy Market (NEM), with the connection scheduled for August.
This project will also increase the total energy assets under OptiGrid’s management to 40MW in just three months.
Hepburn Energy’s General Manager, Taryn Lane, highlighted the significance of the partnership: “We selected OptiGrid because of the data clearly showing its strong performance in maximising the value from batteries.
“The fact that it’s backed by major, well-informed investors gave us extra confidence,” Ms Lane said.
“We were looking for a true partner and Sahand and his team have been very supportive in guiding us through the analysis and technical decisions needed to ensure our community battery deployment is a success.”
OptiGrid, which officially launched in 2024, is backed by a consortium of prominent investors including IP Group, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Hostplus, University of Adelaide, University of New South Wales, and EnergyLab.
Shane Meaney, Investment Manager at IP Group, underscored the broader impact: “Improving the efficiency of grids will bring prices down for consumers and accelerate the deployment of large-scale storage – these will both move the grid to net zero faster,” Meaney said.
Karimi praised Hepburn Energy’s leadership: “It’s great that so many big batteries are now being deployed across Australia as they’ll all help to drive down costs and accelerate the transition to renewables,” he said.
“Seeing what Hepburn Energy is achieving is truly inspiring.
“We’re excited to support Hepburn Energy in making this battery deployment a standout success and a benchmark for the many sub-5MW solar and wind farms striving for similar goals.”
He added that the NEM’s shift to five-minute markets and the growing share of intermittent renewables have heightened energy price volatility, making it harder for battery operators to achieve optimal returns.
“Using AI and machine learning to intelligently manage energy market bidding will make it easier for new batteries to get funding, accelerating the transition to 100 per cent renewable energy,” Karimi said.
This partnership sets a new benchmark for community energy projects across Australia, demonstrating how innovative technology and local leadership can accelerate the nation’s transition to a renewable future.