Aerial view of neighbourhood with installed rooftop solar panels in Sydney | Image Credit: Red.io/Stock.Adobe.comA three-year Australian trial has found that peer-to-peer solar energy trading can reduce electricity costs for households while increasing returns for rooftop solar owners. Unlike a Virtual Power Plant, which coordinates distributed batteries to provide grid services, a Virtual Energy Network enables participating households to digitally trade the value of locally generated solar energy within the network. The study attracted more than 1600 expressions of interest and examined how peer-to-peer energy trading could improve the value households receive from rooftop solar. The report concludes that peer-to-peer trading can encourage more efficient use of distributed solar while delivering financial benefits to both energy buyers and sellers. Researchers suggest this reflects the greater transparency offered by peer-to-peer trading, allowing participants to better understand where their locally generated electricity was being used.