The Western Australian government has embarked on a push to deploy at least 1000 renewable off-grid power systems to bring a resilient power supply to communities and customers.
The technology, called an independent power system (SAPS), combines equipment including battery energy storage and solar photovoltaics, and the state government has announced it will begin rolling out the technology, which will install 180 units and provide $37 million for distributed energy funds.
SAPS is growing in popularity in Australia, especially in rural areas, and the WA rollout is the country's largest to date.
Energy company Western Power, which will be involved in managing the scheme, said customers could use local power generation sources instead of pulling long wires, which would significantly reduce the number of outages, in some cases as much as 90 percent.
This also reduces emissions from power generation, transmission and distribution, allowing almost all local demand to be met by photovoltaics, which often include generators, but only as backup power.
Western Power said the process of installing SAPS would begin with an assessment of customer load and electricity usage patterns, followed by designing a matching off-grid solution.
The technology was initially rolled out to replace reliance on 762km of overhead power lines, freeing up land for farming and reducing the risk of bushfires due to power infrastructure failures.
The system will be deployed in the South West, East and North West regions of Western Australia.
Elsewhere, the government earlier announced it would close its two remaining coal-fired power plants by 2030 and invest $3.8 billion in a transition plan that includes measures such as installing large-scale battery storage.
SAPS can increase the utilization of renewable energy, reduce costs and reduce blackouts and bushfires. In February, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC), which oversees the national electricity market, ruled that independent electricity systems can participate in the electricity market.
