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https://theconversation.com/floods-left-thousands-without-power-microgrids-could-help-communities-weather-the-next-disaster-178311>
"The devastating floods have cut off power for tens of thousands of people
across New South Wales and Queensland, limiting their access to basic amenities
and hampering rescue efforts. This included 54,000 homes in Brisbane alone.
But this doesn’t have to keep happening. Our new research finds installing
renewable energy-run microgrids as a back-up power source can ensure regional
communities don’t run out of critical energy, fuel and food supplies when the
next disaster strikes.
Microgrids are groups of homes and businesses that use, generate, and share
electricity. When the main grid begins to fail, they can disconnect from the
main grid and continue to operate in a so-called “islanding” mode.
Several dozen community microgrid feasibility projects are already in progress.
One, announced by Energy Minister Angus Taylor this week, will use renewable
energy to power Daintree communities in far north Queensland. It will
incorporate an 8 megawatt solar farm, 20 megawatt hours of battery storage and
a 1 megawatt clean hydrogen plant.
While projects like this are a good start, critics argue the Daintree
microgrid’s impact on the rainforest is untested, and point to the need for
greater community engagement. Australia can – and should – be a world leader in
this field, but as climate change brings more frequent disasters, we can’t
afford to get it wrong."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
