Sustainable energy milestone passed at Coober Pedy Hybrid Renewable Power Station

EDL’s Coober Pedy Hybrid Renewable Power Station has achieved a significant milestone, recently passing 25,000 hours of 100% renewable energy generation for the remote South Australian mining town.

The power station came online in mid-2017 and integrates a 4 MW wind farm, 1 MW of solar power and a 1 MW/500kWhr battery, which is backed up by 4.15 MW of diesel generation.

Over its operating life the power station has averaged 74% renewable energy penetration, now including more than 25,000 hours of 100% renewable operation, when conditions allowed for the diesel plant to remain off.

To date, the longest continuous period the power station has operated on 100% renewable energy was 97 hours in December 2019.

EDL General Manager Remote Energy, Geoff Hobley said, “Coober Pedy is too remote for connection to a transmission network, but it is blessed with plenty of sunshine and prevailing winds, which is ideal for an off-grid hybrid renewable power station to provide the community with a consistent energy supply, with greatly reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”

“The power station is something of a pioneer in the supply of hybrid power to remote areas. It demonstrated what is possible, which ultimately encouraged the development of many of Australia’s newest hybrid renewable power stations.’’

“The reliability of the town’s power supply significantly improved following commissioning of the hybrid plant, with a 75% reduction in generation-caused outages.

“This clearly demonstrates that, with the right expertise, hybrid renewable projects can be reliable and sustainable.”