Small settlements along the Australian southern coastline may be last to switch back on when a utility grid recovers from a trip. They may also take the brunt of coastal weather systems, and need the energy urgently to rekindle their emergency services. Electricity distribution network provider Endeavor Energy has an answer for this dilemma in New South Wales, Australia. It is installing the first two of what may be many community islandable microgrids.
How Would These Islandable Microgrids Work?
Kioloa and Bawley Point are the first two beneficiaries of the scheme, with populations of around 250 and 700 respectively. The first stage of the plan involves installing solar and / or batteries in 100 homes in each settlement. But Endeavour Energy confirms that this is just a start.
As One Step Off The Grid explains, islandable microgrids are able to act as “self-contained energy systems during emergencies”. As an added bonus Kioloa and Bawley Point will also share a three-megawatt grid-connected battery “strategically positioned between them”.
Chief of Endeavor Energy, Guy Chalkley shares how this microgrid harmonizes with the greater goal of “making isolated communities more resilient to an increasingly unpredictable and harsh climate change. While also laying the foundation for the future renewable grid.”
How Endeavor Energy Chose Kioloa and Bawley Point
Each of the two hamlets is on the outer fringe of the network serving greater Sydney and beyond. Their geophysical location along the coastline makes them more liable for severe weather. Catastrophic climate events could lay them open to losing the security of the greater grid, which might take days to recover following repairs.
“The grid independence provided by islandable microgrids becomes essential for their survival and safeguarding our regional communities,” Chalkley explains.
“What makes this microgrid the first of its kind is the customer-centric and integrated approach to planning. We can call upon a customer’s energy resources such as rooftop solar and batteries to add resilience to the network, and the community’s power supply.”
More Information
Lithium-Ion Battery Farm Alarms Community
Micro-Grid – Your Own Energy “Island”
Preview Image: Refer YouTube Vidoe
