Hydro Tasmania has successfully supplied King Island in Tasmania with 100 per cent renewable energy for 33 continuous hours.
The achievement was part of the King Island Renewable Energy Project which aims to displace the use of diesel fuel to supply energy needs, by using a combination of renewable and enabling technologies.
Earlier this year the project achieved a 26 hour period where diesel generators were completely switched off in favour of renewables.
Project Director, Simon Gamble, said “what makes this significant is that we’ve used renewable energy to support the needs of an entire community, which includes residential and industrial loads, for a full day,
“Our system has successfully managed the peaks in energy consumption that occur over the course of a full day, including early evening when demand is at its highest and there’s no solar contribution.
“It’s the first time anywhere that this has been achieved at a megawatt scale for such an extended period of time,” Mr Gamble said.
King Island in Tasmania has a population of 1700 people and is known for its world-class dairy industry.
Currently wind, solar, bio diesel and diesel are working alongside battery energy storage, a smart grid and advanced control systems to power the island.
ARENA CEO, Ivor Frischknecht, said the milestone was a live example of how different renewable energy and enabling technologies can work together to provide stable, reliable power around the clock.
“Hydro Tasmania is using a unique combination of technologies to reduce King island’s reliance on expensive shipped in diesel and provide residents with a more secure and reliable energy source.
“This innovative energy solution could benefit off-grid communities on islands and in regional mainland Australia. I look forward to seeing Hydro Tasmania continue to refine and commercialise its approach in other locations,” Mr Frischknecht said.
ARENA has provided $6million funding to support the $18.25million project and is supporting Hydro Tasmania to carry out a similar project on Flinders Island.
