The acquisition, Horizon Power says, will help it meet its carbon targets and service its 34 microgrids and 117 remote communities as it moves towards renewable systems.
The investment from state-owned Horizon Power into West Australian Alternative Energy (WAAE) is intended to “address the renewable energy sector’s wide-ranging supply chain issues, which are impacting the delivery of equipment and projects, as well as a constrained local workforce,” Horizon said.
The partnership between the two companies came after WAAE successfully completed Horizon Power’s Kalumburu hybrid solar project in the Kimberly region in 2022.
The microgrid project involved a 700 kW solar farm and a 1.78 MWh battery capable of meeting the majority of the 400-strong community’s power needs. While the system still included a diesel genset, the microgrid was designed to be able to run completely on renewable energy when weather allowed.
Image: Horizon Power
The project was the first of six renewable energy systems to be rolled out in the Kimberley as part of Horizon’s Remote Communities Centralised Solar Project which will see up to 4 MW of solar PV installed in six remote communities.
The $11.6 million scheme will see solar and battery systems installed in the Warmun, Ardyaloon, Beagle Bay, Djarindjin, and Bidyadanga communities as well.
This is an example of a much bigger push within Horizon Power to transition most of its service area to renewable standalone power systems and microgrids which have emerged as clear frontrunner for the utility in terms of both cost and climate targets.
Image: Horizon Power
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.