Meet a solar enthusiast who’s passionate about sustainability

Self-described “greenie” and Adelaide resident Geoff Perkins is passionate about research, sustainability and offering a helping hand.

One day in August 2016, he saw an AGL press conference that talked about bringing a collection of a thousand That network was our Virtual Power Plant (VPP) – at that time the largest to be announced in the world. It’s designed to support more affordable, reliable and secure electricity, while supporting the transition to a renewables-based economy.

As a long-time fan of crowdsourcing projects, Geoff was immediately sold on the VPP. Inspired and excited, he contacted us about the program, signed up and had a solar battery installed in his home.

These days, Geoff, a retired teacher, loves to plug in his guitar and play the days away. And while he was ecstatic to be one of the first members of AGL’s VPP then, he’s more than happy to continue singing the praises of the network – and everything that goes with it.

“I’ve been brilliantly impressed with my solar battery,” he says. “It’s everything I’ve wanted it to be. But the solar battery isn’t the important part to me – what’s important is the research going on behind it. That’s what’s really exciting to me.”

“The Virtual Power Plant is a wonderful local solution because it's distributed across the area and everybody gets to contribute to the betterment of the entire community,” he says.

A solar home that powers insights 

Geoff’s solar battery isn’t just powering his guitar amp – it’s helping to power insights.

“What got me into being part of the VPP is that it’s a project, it’s research, and I love that,” he said. “I feel like I’m making a real contribution.”

One of the projects that excited Geoff the most was peer to peer solar energy trial. In it, he could trade excess solar power from his solar battery to someone in his family.  It’s programs like this that has supercharged Geoff’s love for the VPP.

“I really like that AGL had the vision to say, we can push this a little bit further,” says Geoff. And he points to the ongoing creation of other VPPs not just in Australia, but around the world, as proof of concept.

Being a conscious consumer

In addition to lowering his electricity bill and helping his community use more sustainable energy, Geoff loves how his solar battery makes him more mindful.

“The battery cuts your bill down and is a really good thing for society, but it also helps you become more aware of what you're doing,” he says.

“You get in tune with your energy consumption. You’re suddenly aware of things that you’d never thought of before,” he said.

Geoff stays on top of it all with the AGL app. It lets him track how much power the appliances in his household consume and how much excess energy is being drawn from his solar battery and shared back to the grid. Geoff says he started using the app as soon as the solar battery was installed.

Thanks to his solar battery and the VPP, Geoff knows that whether he’s strumming his electric guitar or making a cup of tea, he’s likely to be using the power that’s generated through the solar panels on his roof. And that’s music to his ears.