Delivery of five Electric Vehicle (EV) highway stand-alone power units across remote Western Australia.
BACKGROUND:
The Western Australian government's goal of transitioning to a cleaner, greener electric vehicle future is supported by the development of infrastructure to make electric vehicles a reality in the region.
Horizon Power, in collaboration with Synergy, on behalf of the WA State Government, , worked to build an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging highway network across WA.
Created through Ampcontrol and Horizon Power’s joint venture entity, Boundary Power, each Stand-alone Power System (SPS) has been manufactured to provide off-grid, utility-grade, reliable supply to isolated consumption sources.
SOLUTION:
Ampcontrol engineered and manufactured the autonomous SPS off-grid power generation systems that comprise Solar PV and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to supply sufficient renewable energy for remote EV charging infrastructure/power supply, with an integrated backup generator to ensure redundancy.
The EV highway SPS all consist of:
- Solar PV array: 50kWp
- Solar PV inverter capacity: 40kW
- BESS (Kiosk):
- Battery inverter capacity: 72kW
- Battery capacity (nominal): 76.8kWh
- Back-up generator: 65kVA
Additional features of the SPS units include:
- Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) and insulation
- Remote monitoring system
- Utility-grade protection
- Wind region D suitable design
- Expandable battery energy capacity
OUTCOME:
Horizon Power, in partnership with Synergy, delivered an expanded WA Electric Vehicle (EV) charging highway network. The network has 110 EV charging stations across 49 locations, reaching as far north as Kununurra and east to Mundrabilla.
This project provides travellers with EV charging infrastructure in remote WA and the opportunity to do so via renewable energy. The challenge was to size it economically for the remote location and initially smaller volumes of EVs, yet large enough renewable energy delivery to not require the use of the backup generator unless multiple EVs require charge one after another. However, in time, these systems can be upgraded with more solar and larger energy storage as demand increases.
The SPS project provides remote charging opportunities solving the range limitations experienced by EV travellers in remote locations and opening WA's beautiful and rugged landscapes to more travellers.
