Western Australia’s Rottnest Island can now meet as much as 90 per cent of its electricity demand from solar and wind energy, after a 600kW PV array was added to the island’s existing hybrid wind and diesel power, boosting its installed renewable energy capacity to nearly 50 per cent.
Tasmanian utility and renewable energy developer HydroTasmania said on Thursday it had integrated the new solar system with Rottnest’s existing 600kW wind turbine, which was installed in 2004 (and was the subject of Tony Abbott’s angst about wind energy), generating about a third of the island’s energy and saving around 400,000 litres of diesel a year.
The new system – installed by HydroTasmania’s Hybrid Energy Solutions team – makes Rottnest Island 45 per cent renewables powered (factoring in the current wind power component) with up to 90 per cent instantaneous renewable contribution achievable.
The same Hybrid Energy Solutions team was behind the recent transition of King Island, in the Bass Strait, from 100 per cent reliance on diesel power to around 65 per cent renewable; 100 per cent on occasion. A similar project is taking shape on neighbouring Flinders Island.
At Rottnest Island – off the coast of Perth – the team has also installed its hybrid control system, to co-ordinate the generation with enabling technologies, including a dynamic resistor and demand management of the island’s desalination plant.
It said that by integrating solar and wind generation resources with the island’s desalination plant and water storage facilities, surplus renewable energy could be used to create clean drinking water – effectively using stored water as a ‘water battery’.
The project has also yielded its very own app, called Rottnest Island Water and Renewable Energy Nexus (WREN), which provides real-time power usage, project information and educational materials.
The idea is that visitors to the popular tourist spot can learn more about sustainability and how they can make a sustainable difference.
Just this week, plans were approved for a new eco-tent resort at the island’s Pinky’s beach, that would include 86 “glamping” tent sites, as well as a bar, cafe, restaurant and function area.
It is the first new accommodation to be built at Rottnest in more than 30 years, according to ABC News.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
This post was published on October 3, 2017 1:46 pm
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Sorry but what is the purpose of the resistor? Surely you can just put more desalination capability on when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing (and the visitors are all in Bali)?
The resistor is a fancy name for a load bank. This is required because diesel engines glaze up when the load is below a typical 70% (not good). Another way to mitigate against glazing the bores is to think differently and couple the engine with a doubly fed generator. Diesel engine power varies with rpm. You effectively retain 50 Hz whilst reducing the engine rpm. If load response is a concern you simply add a small capacitor or battery. This configuration uses less fuel than the installed configuration. The King Is unit is powered by a Caterpillar diesel. Enough said.
One day batteries will learn to swim. Then they can turn gensets off, but that's not politically expedient for a government department.
RIA removed the solar hot water heaters, replacing them with LPG gas a few years ago. So there is a large fossil load for HWS - even a peak season in summer!
It seems like a no brainer to start putting in some resistance preheating on ripple control around the island.
It's odd that in an off grid setup it's not tracking? Apparently duration of generation is not valuable?
Having spent a fair amount of time on Rotto, I have to say I'm surprised that there isn't more wind generation there.
Perth is renowned for it's regular wind, so much so you can practically set your watch by it.
Rotto is no different, plus it's locale to the continental shelf and high speed currents there is further options for tidal generation. Install may be a problem though with all the pointy toothed critters down there.