WA solar project with cloud predictive technology

An Australian-first solar energy project will supply 1 MW of solar energy to Karratha Airport, WA, utilising cloud predictive technology (CPT) to anticipate solar energy output.

The project is being led by renewable energy development company SunEdison Australia and will receive $2.3 million in support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). It aims to answer questions about how CPT can make solar generation cheaper and more efficient by reducing or eliminating storage requirements.

“It will be the first time cloud predictive technology has been used on a solar PV installation of this size connected to a network,” said ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht.

“Because clouds can lead to a sudden drop in solar output, commercial solar power generation on a smaller network usually has costly storage requirements to ‘smooth out’ supply into the grid. Employing CPT reduces the need for this buffer, meaning solar generation can be installed and operated more cheaply.”

The project will be connected to the North West Interconnected System (NWIS), Horizon Power’s network servicing Western Australia’s Pilbara mining region. Frischknecht noted that the development of renewable energy projects in the region has recently been affected by high storage requirements stipulated by the network operator.

“Battery storage can help smooth out energy output and is becoming cheaper as technology advances,” he said. “However, it is currently a major expense for new projects in the region.

“This project is aiming to satisfy network requirements with fewer batteries by enhancing storage effectiveness with cloud prediction, potentially opening the door for more renewable energy projects in the region.”