Juwi, KPS partners on solar, battery and diesel hybrid system

juwi Australia has entered into strategic partnership with KPS, a subsidiary of Pacific Energy Limited on hybrid system.

The strategic alliance will focus on remote projects seeking to integrate solar and battery energy with traditional diesel or gas fueled power stations. It will bring together the capabilities, technology and resources of the two.

KPS and juwi have been working together for some time on DeGrussa hybrid power station, where the existing KPS 20MW power station was successfully integrated with a 20 hectare 10.6MW solar and 6MW battery system.

The company in a statement said the integration required development of sophisticated control systems in order to manage load swings and maintain uninterrupted power supply and has been successfully commissioned.

juwi began the development of the DeGrussa project in 2013, procured $20.9m ARENA funding in 2014 and further funds from Neoen/CEFC in 2015 when the project commenced construction. juwi provided the turn-key Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Operation and Maintenance service.

Commenting on the signing of the formal Alliance Agreement, Pacific Energy Managing Director, James Cullen said “The partnership with juwi provides us with immediate solar and battery storage capabilities for existing and new customers seeking renewable power solutions. The experience and expertise of juwi leap-frogs us ahead in terms of delivering utility scale solar capability to the market.”He futher added “Importantly, we have developed the knowhow behind successfully integrating and operating the hybrid system in the challenging and changing conditions encountered in mine site operations.”

juwi Australia’s Managing Director, Andrew Drager said  “We are extremely pleased with the formal alliance with KPS. For over nine months we have been working together on the DeGrussa project and formed an excellent working relationship. We look forward to working on future projects together as the mining industry ventures further into hybrid power generation”.