Big-ish Battery For Remote NT Community

A large battery energy storage system to be installed at Titjikala in the Northern Territory is expected to pay for itself within 5 years.

Titjikala is situated in the Simpson Desert, around 130 kilometres south of Alice Springs. It’s a small town (population: ~200) existing in a harsh environment and there appears to be a lot of pride in the place among the locals – I came across this video about Titjikala on the MacDonnell Regional Council web site:

Like many remote communities, Titjikala has been heavily reliant on diesel-based electricity generation. As well as being polluting, diesel makes for pretty pricey power; particularly in the outback where fuel costs are considerably higher than in major cities.

The community’s dependence on diesel was reduced when  a 400kW solar power system was installed under the NT’s Solar Energy Transformation Program (SETuP). Under the $59 million initiative that was co-funded by the Northern Territory Government and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), solar panels were installed at 25 sites across the NT, for a total of around 10MW capacity.

The Titjikala community will be even less reliant on diesel soon, with an announcement yesterday a 970kWh battery system is to be installed. The battery system is expected to save approximately 156,000 litres of diesel annually.

The NT Government says the addition of energy storage will also have significant environmental benefits for the Titjikala community.

“There will be cleaner air through cleaner power, less traffic on the roads from heavy vehicle diesel delivery trucks, and reduced noise from diesel engines.”

The battery, which will cost around $950,000, is expected to be ready to rock by early next year.

“We are not just investing in our major centres, but we are also investing in our remote communities and ensuring that we are delivering cheaper and cleaner power for all Territorians,” said NT Minister for Renewables, Energy & Essential Services, Dale Wakefield.

Bigger Batteries In Store For NT

As mentioned earlier this week, there’s a much bigger battery in the works for the Territory. The Gunner Government will spend $30 million on a large scale energy storage installation for the Darwin-Katherine system, which is also expected to pay for itself within 5 years.

Also on the cards is a 100MW/200MWh battery proposed for Middle Arm in Darwin by the consortium behind the Sun Cable project. Sun Cable will consist of a 10GW solar farm plus battery storage (another system) to be built on 15,000 hectares near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory. The Middle Arm energy storage facility is expected to become part of Sun Cable at a later date.