Solar energy delivering 'microgrid' power to remote towns in WA

Remote towns in Western Australia can now access multiple energy sources due to twin solar photovoltaic diesel power stations installed by ABB.

Towns such as Marble Bar and Nullagine in the Pilbara region of north-western Australia, which are not connected to the grid, have historically relied solely on diesel fuel for their power. The installation of the twin power stations in the region maximises the intake of solar power generation and minimises diesel fuel generation.

ABB’s Darwin-based team worked closely with Horizon Power and SunPower Australia to install the power stations, which are setting benchmarks at an 85% peak for isolated hybrid diesel power systems with extremely high renewable energy generation and conversion.

Stable power output

The Marble Bar and Nullagine power stations each consist of four 320 kW diesel generators and a 300 kW solar array. They use about 2000 solar modules and a single-axis solar tracking system, which follows the path of the sun throughout the day. ABB said the ground-mounted systems were the largest solar tracking systems commissioned in Australia at the time.

The hybrid solution includes a photovoltaic and a diesel generation plant as well as integration and control solutions. The microgrid is equipped with ABB’s PowerStore kinetic flywheel grid stabilising technology, which enables high solar energy penetration by injecting or absorbing power extremely fast to stabilise fluctuating power output from the solar power plant. The company’s Microgrid Plus technology will help control the network.

Reduced dependence on fossil fuels

The hybrid microgrid power solution is now supplying both towns with close to 60% of their power through solar generation, saving around 400,000 L of diesel fuel and 1100 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. The ability to resolve intermittency issues caused by solar and wind generation in weak power systems enables renewable generation to be increasingly used as a primary power source in remote communities with zero or limited access to diesel or other types of fossil fuels.

Image caption: ABB microgrid technology supports a solar photovoltaic diesel power station in Australia.