AGL Energy has delivered a solar and battery-based microgrid in South Australia that will supply about 85% of power for one of the country’s largest almond orchards, helping reduce its reliance on grid electricity and slashing its diesel use by almost 90%.
Australian energy generating and retailing major AGL Energy has cut the ribbon on a microgrid combining solar generation with battery energy storage to power agricultural operations at Koompartu Farms almond orchard in South Australia.
The microgrid combines a 9.2 MW solar PV single-axis tracking array including more than 15,600 solar panels, and a 10.2 MWh battery energy storage system made up of four 2.55 MWh units, The system also includes 16 diesel backup generators, and 19 kilometres of underground high voltage power lines that will distribute power across the 9,340-hectare property.
The facility spans 15 hectares at the Koompartu property near Monash in South Australia’s Riverland region. Owned by United States-based fund manager RRG Capital Management, Koompartu is the largest almond orchard in the state with more than 2,500 hectares of plantings.
The microgrid, described by AGL as “one of the largest privately owned non-mining microgrids in Australia,” is expected to generate enough energy to meet about 85% of the farm’s 6.7 MW of energy demand while reducing reliance on diesel generation by an estimated 88%.
