New record, as iconic mining town runs on 100 pct wind and solar for nearly five days straight

The power company behind a ground-breaking hybrid renewable energy system installed the famous outback opal mining town of Coober Pedy in South Australia is claiming a new record for the amount of time the local grid has operated at 100 per cent renewables.

In a LinkedIn update on Tuesday, EDL said its Coober Pedy Hybrid Renewable Power Station recently clocked 116 hours of continuous diesel-free operations.

“That’s almost five straight days of energy for the iconic Australian mining town, all generated exclusively by wind, solar and battery power,” the post says.

EDL owns and has been operating the plant – a mix of wind (4 megawatts), solar (1 MW), batteries (4.15MW/500kWhr), flywheels, diesel and resistors – since 2017, and since then it has consistently achieved world-leading renewable energy penetration rates.

The performance of the Arena-backed microgrid can be monitored live via the project website – here. At the time of publication it was running on 100 per cent renewables (see below).

The previous record for the longest continuous period operating on 100 per cent renewables was 97 hours in December 2019.

With the new record, it’s worth once again noting that the EDL project copped a bit of flack from some energy analysts and locals when it was first implemented, because of the high costs involved and the heavy funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena), which provided nearly half the upfront cost.

But EDL maintains that the Arena funding was justified – particularly in light of the microgrid’s continued strong performance. It has also been valuable for its learnings, as more and more miners seek to wean their remote Australian operations off diesel and other fossil fuels.

“This power station has set a global benchmark for renewable hybrid power, delivering reliable electricity at a lower cost for a community in one of Australia’s most remote off-grid locations,” the LinkedIn post says this week.

“EDL is proud to be leading the way in hybrid renewable energy solutions, supporting the transition to a cleaner energy future.”

If you would like to join more than 28,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, please click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.