Juwi Renewable Energy Pty Ltd, the Brisbane subsidiary of German renewable energy specialist juwi AG, has signed an agreement with Perth-based Contract Power to construct the high penetration solar and wind components of a new hybrid generation solution for the town of Esperance in south eastern Western Australia.
Contract Power will own and operate the Esperance hybrid renewables facility which is expected to meet up to half of the town’s annual electricity demand. The project is scheduled to be operational in early 2022.
Dave Manning, Global Head of Hybrid at juwi said that hybrid power solutions offer the potential to significantly reduce fossil fuel generation in pristine environments whilst maintaining reliability at competitive costs.
“The generated electricity will be distributed by Horizon Power, which is owned by the West Australian Government and supplies electricity to communities across regional Western Australia,” said Mr Manning. “We are looking forward to working with Contract Power to deliver this landmark project in Esperance.”
The construction and development of hybrid power plants for off-grid customers such as mines is an important pillar of juwi’s Australian business strategy. These projects intelligently integrate solar, wind and battery power with existing electricity grids using a juwi-developed microgrid control system called juwi Hybrid IQ.
Stephen Hansen, juwi Board member responsible for international business, said juwi has already proved what renewable energy solutions can achieve through its world-renowned DeGrussa project and continues to build on this accomplishment.
“Our customers benefit from our comprehensive service portfolio that supports our clients at every stage, from project development and commissioning to the operation and maintenance of their systems,” said Mr Hansen.
juwi has already achieved remarkable success in selected markets. The construction of a solar farm in Kozani, Greece is currently under development. With an expected capacity of 204 megawatts, it will become the largest solar farm in south-east Europe. In the coming years, juwi will also develop a solar portfolio with a capacity of 500 megawatts in the United States for a regional energy supplier in Colorado. Since the founding of the company in 1996, juwi has planned and developed close to 2,000 solar power plants of various sizes, with an overall capacity of more than 2,700 megawatts in more than 25 countries.
The Esperance project will be the fourth hybrid project by juwi in Australia. The company has constructed hybrid renewable energy solutions for three other Australian customers to date: the Degrussa Gold and Copper Mine, the Agnew mine and a research centre on Heron Island.
