EDL wins South Australian Premier’s Award

EDL was recognised at the South Australian Premier’s 2018 Awards in Energy & Mining, taking out top prize for the energy sector’s award in Excellence in Innovation: Productivity Improvement for its Coober Pedy Renewable Hybrid Project.

The project came online in July 2017, powering the remote town of Coober Pedy with a combination of 4MW wind generation, 1MW solar generation, a 1MW/500kWhr battery and other integration technologies with the diesel power station as a backup.

EDL CEO James Harman said that by the end of September 2018, the project had successfully transitioned the town’s historical reliance on diesel for electricity to renewables—approximately 74% of the town’s energy was supplied by renewable sources.

“The Coober Pedy Renewable Hybrid Project demonstrates that renewable energy can provide world leading levels of stability and penetration, without compromising power quality and reliability at a remote site where power connectivity is critical.

“This project is an example of EDL’s focus on providing innovative distributed energy solutions—both off-grid and grid-connected—to meet customers’ energy needs.”

The organiser of the awards, the Department for Energy and Mining, stated that the Coober Pedy Renewable Hybrid Project “impressed through the high level of transparency and accountability provided to the local community and the company’s strong focus on continuous improvement and innovation.”

Based on performance to date, the project will continue to provide Coober Pedy with a solid platform for increasing renewable penetration and the town’s energy sustainability, and will provide EDL with learnings for application across the world.

For more information please contact:

Lisa France, Global Head of Corporate Affairs
0417 029 240
Lisa.France@edl.com.au