Broome-born Generators and Off Grid Energy (GenOffGrid) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India conglomerate Hira Steel to jointly build, own and operate large-scale solar and battery energy storage systems in the northern Australia Kimberley region.
With offices in Broome, Darwin, Kununurra and Papua New Guinea (PNG), GenOffGrid has built a client base around its core mission to reduce reliance on diesel fuel for the energy needs of remote locations, such as cattle stations, eco-tourism, agricultural projects and Indigenous communities.
It has developed a rapid deployable solar lithium diesel microgrid that reduces diesel fuel burn in off-grid applications by up to 94% and has recently completed a large solar project under an Australian Foreign Aid program in remote PNG, powering a town of 15,000 people with its solar battery microgrid solution.
The new partnership with Hira Steel follows an expansion into Darwin in February 2024, opening an office there, with the help of a $3 million (USD 2 million) concessional business loan from the Northern Territory government’s Local Jobs Fund, supporting their ongoing developments in neighbouring islands.
Image: Generators and Off Grid Energy
Founded in 2017, GenOffGrid Managing Director John Davidson said the company is keen to continue to develop its regional presence and the partnership with Hira Steel will enable expansion into much larger projects and opportunities.
“Now, with a substantial and ethical funding partner, we can jointly own the assets we build against the sale of energy supply services,” Davidson said.
Hira Steel will fund the capital costs to engineer and build large-scale solar and battery power stations to replace up to 80% of fossil fuel used for remote power generation.
Hira Renewables Vice President Nishit Nath said Hira has an interest in partnering with local companies and landowner groups to jointly own and operate power generation assets in northern Australia and the Pacific.
“GenOffGrid has a number of very successful projects and a proven operating model for using solar and batteries for replacing diesel and gas generation. This agreement will allow us to work towards providing the necessary capital for these types of projects,” Nath said.
Representatives of GenOffGrid were members of an Australian Trade and Investment Commission delegation that attended India Energy Storage Week in New Delhi in July 2024, and was followed by Nath visiting Australian GenOffGrid development sites, prior to the companies signing the MoU.
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