Green power for Wurrumiyanga

Published 21 February 2023

A renewables future is one step closer for the Tiwi Islands with a design and construct tender for a pilot program in Wurrumiyanga awarded to Circular Solutions.

The NT Government is investing $8.6 million over four years towards its Renewable Remote Power Program - including $6.1 million towards the Wurrumiyanga Solar Infill and Energy Storage Pilot Project.

Circular Solutions will replace some of the current diesel generated power supply with renewable technology, with works expected to be completed by April 2024.

Wurrimuyanga is already operating some solar technology and this investment will significantly increase the energy generated from solar, with the installation of additional solar PV panels and a new battery energy storage system.

The project will add 1.1 megawatts of additional solar PV and a Battery Energy Storage System of about 3 megawatt hours. It is expected that the percentage of renewable energy delivered to the community will increase to almost 50 per cent.

The NT Government is also investing $2 million over the next two years to advance the delivery of clean and reliable electricity to remote communities across the Territory. This investment has so far resulted in a framework to deliver renewable energy systems to the 73 remote communities supplied by Indigenous Essential Services (IES), including opportunities for innovative technologies such as hydrogen.

Work is progressing on the detailed analysis of each IES community to map the optimal renewables development pathway, considering, among other things, the design and configuration of existing energy assets, electricity demand profiles and forecast growth.

This pilot is an important step towards the Territory Labor Government achieving its target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030, which includes a 70 per cent target in all communities supplied by IES. Renewable investments in remote power system services can lead to diesel cost savings and deliver substantial reductions in emissions as diesel is replaced, as well as generating local jobs.