Western Australia has flicked the switch on one of Australia’s largest and most sophisticated microgrids, a 5MW mix of solar, wind and battery storage that will have the ability, if required, to power the Mid West town of Kalbarri entirely with renewables.
The Kalbarri microgrid, which combines 1.6MW of wind generation capacity, 1MW of “mum and dad” rooftop solar and 2MWh of battery storage, differs from most in that it has no fossil fuel back-up. That’s because the microgrid, itself, is the back-up – in this case, for the main grid.
Government-owned network company Western Power developed the microgrid in partnership with utility Synergy, the Shire of Northampton and the local community, to address ongoing reliability issues that have plagued the tourist town.
Kalbarri, which has roughly 1,500 residents and attracts more than 100,000 visitors a year, is connected to the state’s South West Interconnected System – Western Australia’s main grid – by a 140km long rural feeder line from Geraldton.
This “infamous” line, as Western Power’s Aaron Fawcett describes it, is “very open to the elements and has given us a lot of trouble in the past;” namely regular and sometimes prolonged outages.
Just a reminder that FFs were required to build the solar and wind systems; and when they need replacement, (1/4 century) FFs will be needed once again.