Labor promises 1,000 stand-alone solar, battery and hydrogen microgrids

Western Australia’s Labor Party has announced plans to both build and install 1,000 standalone power systems – or SAPS – including solar, battery storage and hydrogen electrolysers across its grid over the coming five years, as part of a $259 million policy package to boost green manufacturing in the state.

The new policy package, which will also put $10 million towards local wind turbine manufacturing, was announced by the McGowan government on Wednesday, after it scrambled to deal with the Liberal Opposition’s refreshingly ambitious New Energy Jobs plan that includes a zero emissions grid by 2030.

Of the $259 million earmarked, the vast majority will go towards the creation and rollout of the 1,000 SAPS, an increasingly popular solution to remote and regional power supply that is already somewhat of a specialty of Western Australia’s government-owned network companies.

“The commitment of more than 1,000 standalone power systems will create a baseline demand for locally manufactured power systems, including solar panels, batteries and hydrogen electrolysers – driving hundreds of local manufacturing jobs and putting WA at the forefront of high-tech industries,” the government said in a statement.

The ambitious program, which has been declared a Strategic Project under the WA Jobs Act to ensure local manufacturers are part of the deal – will be delivered by state government-owned network companies Horizon Power and Western Power.

(A separate energy industry development team will also be established, to work with local renewable energy manufacturers and the mining industry to accelerate the transition to renewables on remote mine sites.)

To read the original version of this story on RenewEconomy sister site One Step Off The Grid, please click here.