Clean, green power across the Territory is a priority of the Territory Labor Government.

A renewables future is one step closer for the Tiwi Islands, with construction underway at the Wurrumiyanga Solar Infill and Energy Storage Pilot Project.

Wurrumiyanga is home to over 2000 people, and soon it will be powered by 50 per cent renewable energy.

The Territory Labor Government is investing $6.1 million into the project, which will deliver 1.2 megawatts of additional solar PV to the community, and a Battery Energy Storage System with a capacity of 3 megawatt hours.

Local and Australian company 5B is delivering the project, with earthworks and the installation of cyclone-resilient solar arrays now complete.

Facilitating a renewal of the community’s energy system is a key component to this project, which includes aging diesel infrastructure and dated solar PV technology.

This is an important step forward in delivering advanced renewable energy for Wurrumiyanga and changing the way power is generated across our communities.    

The project is expected to be completed and operational by 2024, allowing the community to be powered by 50 per cent renewable energy.

This announcement comes as the remote community of Titjikala, south of Alice Springs was recently powered by 83 per cent renewable energy.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Renewables, Nicole Manison:

 “This pilot program in Wurrumiyanga is an important step towards the Territory Labor Government achieving our target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030, which includes an average of 70 per cent renewables in communities supplied by Indigenous Essential Services.

“We will keep doing the hard work as we push towards our target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.

“A renewables future is now one step closer for the Wurrumiyanga community and we look forward to extending the lessons learnt from this project to other remote Territory communities.”

Quote attributable to the Member for Arafura, Manuel Brown:

“It is great to see our largest community on Bathurst Island driving down emissions and creating stable reliable energy in line with the rest of the Territory.

 “Soon we will see less and less communities around the NT rely on diesel powered generators through Territory Labor’s remote power system strategy, a strategy which is changing lives in our most remote communities.

5B Chief Strategy Officer Nicole Kuepper-Russell

“We’re proud to be part of this important project that will see almost 50 per cent of the Wurrumiyanga community’s power provided by renewables, delivering lower-cost cleaner energy, greater energy resilience, and employment opportunities.

“Our latest generation high-wind resilient 5B Maverick - wind rated up to 72 metres per second - is specifically designed for cyclone prone regions like the Tiwi Islands. It is also fast to deploy in remote regions, a deployment team of four unfolded the 1.2 MW 5B solar farm on Bathurst Island in just four days, with mechanical installation, including unpacking, staging, cabling, the extra anchoring required for wind region C and clean up, taking less than two weeks.

“We’re working to replicate this rapid deployment model across other remote communities in the Territory and we welcome the Government’s support in accelerating renewable energy projects and investments.”

Source: Northern Territory Government Newsroom