Tasmania’s Maria Island to be powered by solar and battery microgrid

The Tasmanian government has revealed plans to slash the use of diesel fuel on the “island national park” of Maria Island, with the installation of an off-grid solar and battery storage microgrid.

The Liberal Gutwein government on the weekend issued a call for tenders to design and build a solar and battery storage system at the World Heritage-listed island, located off the state’s east coast.

Tasmania Liberal government’s environment minister, Roger Jaensch, said in a statement that the job would include a ground mounted solar array and custom built, air-conditioned battery storage facility, both of unspecified capacity – although the statement mentions an annual energy yield of 65MWh.

Jaensch said the off-grid system would be located within the existing Parks and Wildlife Service workshop precinct and away from popular visitor locations on the uninhabited island.

“These critical infrastructure works will ease demand on diesel power generation, in addition to providing greater capacity and a more environmentally friendly and sustainable energy supply,” he said.

“This is another way the Tasmanian government is future-proofing this Tasmanian treasure for future generations to enjoy,” said the Liberal member for Lyons, John Tucker.

“The new solar array will provide reliable power to the new pressure sewer system, the Darlington accommodation and for day-to-day operations on the Island.”

Sophie Vorrath

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.