Plico is a leading Australian clean energy company building a sustainable energy grid for the future. Born and bred in WA, our innovative membership model puts power back into the hands of the community, allowing our members to save money, enjoy blackout protection and generate their own clean energy, all for one low weekly instalment.
Who is behind Plico?
In 2017, a group of innovators gathered to discuss how they could positively impact climate change. Plico’s two founding members, Brian Innes and Mike Kilcullen were the brainchildren behind the idea of a member-based, residential virtual power plant (VPP) that could benefit both the participants and the grid with a clean energy solution.
With a background in clean energy, they put together a unique community model that allowed people to run their homes on clean energy with a solar panel + battery system in the coastal town of Dunsborough, WA. The model was brought to life as the Dunsborough Community Energy Project (DCEP) by Starling Energy Group and was funded by Swiss sustainable investor SUSI Partners, who provided the capital investment for the project.
Thus, WA’s first VPP, and Australia’s first 100% privately funded plant of its kind, was born! As the project expanded to neighbouring towns, it was rebranded to Plico Energy. Plico is derived from the Latin word for 'link', which reflects our mission to build a community of connected clean energy systems under a VPP. Linking individual households and businesses in this way allows our community to have a greater impact on the planet and accelerate the clean energy transition in WA.
DCEP Inc. remains the name of the association that all Plico members are part of, paying homage to our beginnings in the iconic coastal town.
The Plico community expanded quickly across WA from the first installations in Dunsborough, and as of 2023, Plico is now installing one in every four solar batteries in the state...and counting! In early 2023, we crossed the 1000-member threshold and in 2024 we expanded our operations into Victoria.
Plico has come a long way in just five years. At the end of 2022, the VPP provided emergency power capacity to the grid during peak demand periods. Almost 1000 Plico systems, using cutting-edge technology, acted as one giant battery to export energy to the WA grid on two occasions. In 2023, Plico is working together with WA's biggest energy retailer, Synergy, to provide minimum demand services to the grid, further demonstrating how our VPP provides a clean energy solution that benefits the grid, the planet and Plico members.
Brian and Mike have stepped back from the day-to-day running of the business and now provide strategic oversight on our Board of Directors. They remain inspired by Plico’s growing movement, supporting more Australians to take control of their energy and positively impact the environment.
