LOCKHART could soon be exclusively powered by solar panels and a methane-driven generator, giving it energy independence and a revenue stream.
And the town’s electricity bills look set to plummet by as much as 25 per cent.
Two public meetings last week secured unanimous support for a project that will have the town of about 1000 people powered solely by renewables and running off batteries sometime next year.
Lockhart Shire Mayor Roger Schirmer said the fundamental phase of the project, gaining the town’s support, had been undeniably achieved on November 21.
Now it is up to Better Energy Technology, the company proposing the town’s shift from grid dependence, to negotiate the paperwork and pemits with the powers that be.
BET hopes to extend to a larger regional city of 50,000 once the energy solution has been proven and optimised, both technically and financially. Mr Schirmer said solar panels combined with a bio-digesting methane generator would provide the town’s power, which would then be stored in a mix of batteries. The $20-million project will be funded by a combination of private debt and government support.
The man helping driving the concept, Gordon Hinds of Better Energy Technology, says the Lockhart project is an opportunity to establish a working platform that could provide an energy solution across regional Australia.
Mr Hinds set up Boston University’s first course in urban sustainability from his Australian base five years ago.
“What we’re doing in Lockhart hasn’t been done in Australia,” he said, “there are some private, off-grid systems with similiarities”.
He said the town would be powered entirely by renewable power, 24 hours a day, backed up by four distinct battery systems.
They would include lithium ion and flow batteries and two newer systems, one developed by CSIRO and commercialised by a US company known as Ecoult and an Ambri liquid metal battery, the largest of which in the world would make its debut in Lockhart. The battery systems would kick in during the mornings and evenings to manage the town’s peak demands. “It’s an opportunity for towns to take control of their own power,” Mr Hinds said.
“What we’re trying to do is create abundant energy at low cost on a micro grid, it could really open things up radically.” The methane generator will be run on dry waste sourced from Wagga Wagga’s waste management centre.
Mr Schirmer said the bio-digestor would need about 10 tonnes of dry matter a week, and there was currently about 200,000 tonnes available now at Wagga, which was added to daily.