Ergon Energy has recieved the 2014 Clean Energy Council (CEC) Industry Award for Innovation for its Doomadgee solar farm project in Queensland’s north west.
The CEC awards identify industry excellence with the award for innovation recognising the design and development of a ground-breaking Australian clean energy project.
Announced recently, the award was presented to General Manager Energy Solutions and Isolated Systems Kevin Colley.
“It was a tremendous honour to collect the award on behalf of our teams that worked so hard to make the Doomadgee Solar Farm such a successful project,” he said.
“For Ergon to be recognised for industry excellence in innovation is something we are proud of. Our efforts and successes don’t go unnoticed and this award demonstrates to our customers and stakeholders that we are serious in working towards creating a sustainable future for the communities we service.”
The project team submitted a nomination that showcased the 264kW Doomadgee Solar Farm project, highlighting the ground-breaking work undertaken by engineers and project managers and demonstrated the business commitment to customer and stakeholder engagement within the isolated communities.
Doomadgee is an Aboriginal community with a population of 1052 people, located in the Gulf of Carpentaria in north-western Queensland.
Doomadgee’s 2.44MW diesel power station is the fourth largest of Ergon’s isolated power stations and has the highest amount of fuel storage, almost one million litres.
The solar farm with its 1056 panels was designed and constructed to take advantage of the existing diesel power system capability and deliver an economical solution.
The solar farm allows for 50 per cent instantaneous power penetration, which pushes the technical limits of the system spinning reserve and diesel engine load acceptance.
The project saw Ergon engineers break new ground by challenging preconceived restrictions on the amount of solar that could be connected to a diesel grid with the additional costly stability devices.
The innovative design optimises solar penetration and allows control of the solar farm from the diesel power station.
The solar farm is the first step in ensuring a sustainable power supply for the future of the community.
