Video of the Day: 1MW solar hybrid plant installed in just 7 days

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A 1MW redeployable solar-diesel hybrid power plant was unveiled this week in Combabula, regional Queensland – fully operational after being installed in just one week.

The pilot-scale plant – believed to be the world’s first of its kind – is the product of an ARENA-backed project aimed at making it easier and cheaper to supply remote Australian communities and industrial sites with off-grid renewable energy generation.

As the video below shows (in time-lapse), the innovative modular technology – which was developed by Laing O’Rourke – was delivered, set up, unpacked and fully operational within seven days.

According to ARENA (the Australian Renewable Energy Agency), the off-site construction and rapid pack-up and pack-down give the technology the potential to lower costs and reduce risks associated with undertaking projects in regional and remote Australia.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the Combabula plant provided a clear demonstration of a versatile alternative to costly and heavy polluting diesel powered generators.

Each redeployable hybrid plant is expected to power multiple successive off-grid users, allowing them to benefit from the advantages of solar without committing to a permanent installation.

Sophie Vorrath

Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.

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