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Microgrids could become new energy solution for towns like Tarnagulla and Donald
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Microgrids powered by diesel generators have been used in remote communities since the 1980s.
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Regional towns once ran on their own power transfer stations, and it could be a case of history repeating if a new three-year study finds microgrids a viable option for resilient energy supply.
Key points:
People in Tarnagulla and Donald are already looking into resilient supplies of energy
Microgrids could be an option for communities that face environmental events
The not-for-profit Centre for New Energy Technologies (C4NET) will conduct the study, which will be funded by the federal government s Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund.
26 February 2021
Two regional Victorian towns, Donald and Tarnagulla, are to take part in a trial with a local network operator that could see them become the biggest communities so far to cut ties with the grid and rely on local renewables and storage.
The trial is being co-ordinated by the Centre for New Energy Technologies (C4NET), an initiative founded by the Victorian government that aims to bring business, communities and research organisations together to find innovative ways of decarbonising electricity supply.
A new rule change working its way through the system will allow network operators to service remote customers, such as farms, with “stand alone power systems.” But it will also be applicable to larger communities, and Donald and Tarnagulla, could be the first in line.