King Island renewable energy project generates energy security milestone Friday, 20 November 2015

Hydro Tasmania’s King Island Renewable Energy Integration Project (KIREIP) has reached a major milestone this month.

The project has successfully supplied the islands power needs with renewable energy for a continuous period of 33 hours.

Furthermore, the project has recently run two full days at zero diesel operation, when diesel supply is completely turned off and replaced by renewable energy.

KIREIP, developed from a collaborative research programme between Hydro Tasmania and the University of Tasmania, aims to displace the use of diesel fuel to supply energy needs, by using a combination of renewable and enabling technologies. The projects renewable energy development includes:

  • Bio Diesel
  • Diesel Uniterruptble Power Supply (D-UPS)
  • Battery Energy Storage System 
  • Smart Grid demand side management

Project Director Simon Gamble said the project objective is to reduce diesel consumption for power generation on King Island by more than 65 percent on average every year, and provide for the ability to generate 100 percent of the island’s power needs using renewable energy when conditions allow.

“Our system has successfully managed the peaks in energy consumption that occur over the course of a full day, including early evening when demand is at its highest and there’s no solar contribution.

“It’s the first time anywhere that this has been achieved at a megawatt scale for such an extended period of time," said Mr Gamble.

Engineers Australia Tasmania Division General Manager Dr Vicki Gardiner said KIREIP is an example of how a mix of generating technology can offer sustainable energy solutions that meet the needs of remote communities.

“In its Energy Security for Australia report, Engineers Australia noted that the liquid fuel security in Australia was an issue. The innovation in this project demonstrates that Tasmania’s engineers are well positioned to develop high tech solutions, offering energy security solutions to many isolated communities both in Australia and overseas” said Dr Gardiner.