It’s likely that eventually King Island, in Bass Strait between the Australian states of Victoria and Tasmania, will be home to the biggest wind farm in the southern hemisphere but for the moment a milestone has been achieved in the push towards renewable energy.
Hydro Tasmania has a small number of wind turbines and solar panels on the island and is aiming to reduce the use of back-up diesel generators by 65 per cent.
The state-owned business is celebrating what it calls a world first breakthrough switching off the generators for 90 minutes and relying solely on wind power.
Hydro Tasmania’s Simon Gamble told ABC News 100 per cent renewable generation had not been achieved anywhere else on such a large scale.
“We are aiming to achieve sustained periods of 100 per cent renewable energy,” he said.
“We are aiming to increase those as we continue with the project and we will be able to do that further and further through the next few months.”
ABC News reports more residents are being sought for a trial, which aims to increase the use of wind and solar power.
Smart grid technology is being installed in homes and businesses with electric hot water, allowing Hydro Tasmania to remotely control energy use during times of peak demand.
Project administrator Elly Smith said it would reduce the reliance on back-up diesel generators.
“So if the battery supply is down they can cut people’s hot water systems off for a maximum of five minutes through the night, and it’s only through the night, to rebuild the energy in the battery systems,” she said.
Currently Hydro Tasmania is evaluating the next step in its plan to build a $2 billion wind farm on the island, which will produce electricity for the state of Victoria.