Western Power has installed its first stand-alone power system (SPS) aimed at aiding conservation efforts and cultural tourism.
Installed for a community group at Greening Australia’s 750-hectare Nowanup property, the SPS is expected to improve power reliability in the Great Southern Region.
Minister for Energy, Bill Johnston said that as the property, at Boxwood Hill, was located at the end of a spur line, it had been subject to many power outages due to stormy weather and bushfires.
“The SPS features solar panels, a battery for energy storage and a generator for back-up, which will significantly improve power reliability,” Mr Johnston said.
“It will provide secure power for Greening Australia’s site, which is regularly used by local Indigenous communities and the Indigenous Nowanup Rangers as part of Gondwana Link, a biodiversity project that spans 1,000 kilometres across Western Australia’s south-west.”
He said it would also enable the local community and Curtin University to expand the use of the property as a bush campus, allowing Noongar learning and teachings in a bush setting.
“The site is one of three properties owned by Greening Australia in the Gondwana Link, and the not-for-profit is a key player helping to reverse the decline of native wildlife and reconnecting patches of healthy bush to improve and conserve the habitat,” Mr Johnston said.
He said Western Power was installing 52 SPSs on regional properties in the Mid-West, Wheat Belt and Great Southern this year, with a further 100 planned for 2021.
