Daintree Microgrid Project
Daintree Microgrid Project
A solar based (with hydrogen storage) microgrid for the Daintree region in far north Queensland is under development.
| Main proponents:
Volt Advisory Group (federal grant recipient) |
Main end-use classification:
Microgrid / regional applications |
Status:
Under development
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Estimated cost:
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| Other involvement:
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Production details:
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Location:
Queensland, Australia |
Announced funding:
Feasibility study: AUD$990,150 – Federal Government Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund Capital works grant:
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Project description
The World Heritage-Listed Daintree Rainforest region in northern Queensland has no or limited mains electricity supply. Residents of the area use diesel generators or solar power and battery storage, or a combination of both.
Solar panels are not viable for all residents due to shading issues and in the wet season the lack of sunshine means diesel generators must be used. It is estimated that the Daintree area uses around four million litres of diesel per annum to generate power.
In March 2022, the Federal Government announced an award of AUD$18.75 million over three years (under the Daintree Microgrid Program) to Volt Advisory Group to support development of a renewable energy microgrid for the Daintree region. This award follows a feasibility study supported through a AUD$990,150 grant under the Federal Government’s Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund.
The microgrid project would convert excess energy generated from existing and new solar panels into hydrogen via electrolysis. The hydrogen produced would be stored, to be used to generate electricity during unfavourable conditions (thereby reducing reliance on diesel generation). The microgrid project will incorporate an 8 MW solar farm, 20 MWh of battery storage and a 1 MW clean hydrogen plant.
Updated: April 2024