“Island-able” solar-battery microgrid wins funding to keep lights on in town at the end of the line

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded $3 million in funding to EDP Renewables Australia to develop the Braidwood Renewable Microgrid Project in the NSW Southern Tablelands.

The Braidwood Renewable Energy Project is being developed by EDP Renewables Australia, the local subsidiary of Portuguese electric utility EDP, in partnership with Essential Energy and Braidwood Clean Energy.

Designed as a community-focused microgrid pilot designed to strengthen long-term energy resilience across Australia – in particular in vulnerable sections of the national electricity network – the Braidwood microgrid will consist of a town-scale 5 megawatt (MWac) solar system and a two-hour 5 MW, or 10 megawatt-hour (MWh), battery energy storage system (BESS).

Braidwood, a small town located 60 kilometres east of Canberra, is positioned at the end of a single distribution line in a high bushfire risk area. This means that any damage or disruption to distribution lines in the region can cause prolonged power outages for the town and surrounding communities.

Plans for a microgrid were initiated in response to the 2019-20 “Black Summer” bushfire crisis, which hit Braidwood particularly hard.

When deployed, therefore, the Braidwood microgrid will enable the community to maintain power if grid connection is lost, ensuring essential services remain running while repairs are underway. Central to the microgrid’s design is its “island mode” capability, which allows it to safely disconnect from a compromised national grid and operate autonomously as a self-sustaining local microgrid, ensuring secure and continuous energy supply.

“Braidwood Clean Energy was established in 2019 to promote energy efficiency and solar energy for the region,” said Paul Cockram, president of Braidwood Clean Energy.

“Braidwood and its surrounding villages and farms are innovative, progressive and optimistic about the future. When we learned of possible funding to develop a modern approach to energy security, we formed a partnership with EDP Renewables Australia to help make it happen.

“This ‘island-able’ solar-generated power supply will demonstrate that Braidwood can be both historic and futuristic in a way that other towns will surely follow.”

Under normal conditions, electricity generated by the microgrid will be exported to the national grid, offsetting approximately 7,537 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) per year.

EDP Renewables Australia also hopes that the pilot project may eventually service as the basis for replication in areas where the grid is similarly vulnerable to unplanned outages. The company is also committed to establishing an effective benefit-sharing framework for the local community.

Pending project approval, construction is expected to get underway during the first quarter of 2027, with a current estimated commissioning targeting February 2028.

The Braidwood Renewable Energy Project is among the first projects funded under Stream A (Regional Australia Microgrid Pilots) of the ARENA Regional Microgrids Program.

“Projects like Braidwood show how renewable energy and storage can be configured to keep communities powered during grid disruptions,” said Darren Miller, CEO of ARENA.

“Through ARENA’s Regional Microgrids Program, we’re supporting solutions that not only improve resilience locally, but also provide a model that can be applied in other communities across Australia facing similar risks.”