New Stand-Alone Power System Trial In Western Australia

Image: Western Power

WA’s Energy Minister has given the go-ahead for Western Power to proceed with a demonstration project to install stand-alone power systems at up to 60 sites across the state.

The negative impacts associated with the tyranny of distance in relation to energy transmission and distribution are particularly prevalent in rural Western Australia. Long stretches of powerlines servicing small communities and single properties contribute to line-loss¹ and are continually threatened by severe weather and bushfires. Fringe-of-grid locations often suffer from quality of service issues, are subject to regular blackouts and represent a significant expense to Western Power in maintaining services to them.

In these scenarios, the provision of a stand-alone power system based on solar power technologies can make good financial sense and improve the quality of service, making it a winning proposition all round.

The new project builds on a previous 12 month trial of stand-alone power systems in Ravensthorpe, Lake King, West Lake and Ongerup, which proved to be a success. Six farms were provided with systems including solar panels, a battery with enough storage for two days supply of electricity and a backup generator that kicks in automatically when required.

According to Western Power, 92 per cent of the participating farms’ electricity was generated by the solar panels and an average of 65 hours of power outages were avoided over the course of the trial.

For the new demonstration project, sites have been identified based on the age and condition of infrastructure, network layout and customer load usage profiles – and all were due for significant and expensive maintenance works.

The project will also provide opportunities for Western Australian companies to supply and install the equipment and systems. Western Power says it will soon commence an open tender procurement process.

“Delivering efficient, safe and reliable power to the rural and remote parts of Western Australia is challenging,” said Western Australian Energy Minister Ben Wyatt. “The adoption of new and advanced technologies also opens the door for new skills across the energy sector and the potential for new jobs.”

Western Power says it has identified thousands of customers who could benefit from stand-alone power systems, which would save the state millions of dollars in upgrades of poles and wires. However, current regulations prevent it from rolling out these systems.

Minister Wyatt says he has also asked the Public Utilities Office to identify regulatory changes that will enable broader deployment of stand-alone power systems across the state in scenarios where it is cost-effective to do so.

In a somewhat related project, we reported last month a $6.8 million contract for a 100 per cent renewable energy-powered microgrid for Kalbarri in Western Australia has been awarded Energy Made Clean (EMC) and Lendlease.

In other recent news from Western Power and back in the ‘burbs, the utility recently announced it will soon give owners of solar panels in Meadow Springs, a suburb of Mandurah around 70 kilometres from Perth’s CBD, a way to “bank” their solar electricity through a community energy storage trial.

Trivia: Western Power manages and maintains more than 101,000 kilometres of powerlines – enough to wrap around the Earth’s equator 2.5 times.