Horizon Power has awarded contracts to two companies for the delivery of a solar farm and battery storage in Onslow in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, which is expected to be Australia’s largest hybrid renewable energy microgrid.
The company has recently received the green light from the State Government for the next stage of the distributed energy resources (DER) project in Onslow. This project is aimed at providing high level of renewable energy to meet the town’s electricity needs.
“Our DER microgrids will deliver more affordable and sustainable electricity to communities, giving customers more choice over how they receive their energy and greater ability to lower their power bills,” Horizon Power Managing Director Frank Tudor said.
CPS National has been awarded the contract to build the solar farm that will be located 18 kilometres from Onslow, adjacent to the new gas fired power station - which was part of the first stage of the Onslow project. The new power station is nearing completion, and it was designed to utilise solar energy which will save money that could have been spent on fuel and maintenance works.
On the other hand, Contract Power Group will be building and installing the utility-scale battery storage and it is going to be located within Horizon Power’s new zone substation - which is approximately 3 kilometres from the town centre. The battery storage will help manage events - such as an overcast or peak electricity demand - to ensure the Onslow community has a smooth supply of power.
The entire Onslow microgrid project is partially funded by the Chevron-operated Wheatstone LNG project that is being developed in the region.
The solar farm and battery storage are expected to be completed by the first half of 2019.
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Source: Business News WA; One Step Off The Grid; Horizon Power