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How a Small Western Australian Town Became the First 100% solar-powered Locality

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How a Small Western Australian Town Became the First 100% solar-powered Locality

People in a tiny town in Western Australia have shown the rest of the world how to become independent with solar energy. The small and humble town of Onslow has achieved a massive feat by going off the grid with Solar for home. All the houses have a combination of large and small-scale residential solar panels and solar batteries. Though less than 1000 people are living there, it is still a significant milestone.

Onslow has shown that it is possible to adapt to the needs of the environment. Though it is the home of a significant gas-fired power station, they chose to go the extra mile and build a local microgrid to become solar positive.

They have built a 600kW solar array on top of a 700kW generator from their rooftop PV systems. Since the area gets an abundant supply of sunshine in the mornings, it has become possible to run 90 per cent of the entire town with solar energy. Reaching the 100 per cent mark seemed far away from a while ago, but now they have done it.

They have built a 600kW solar array on top of a 700kW generator from their rooftop PV systems. Since the area gets an abundant supply of sunshine in the mornings, it has become possible to run 90 per cent of the entire town with solar energy. Reaching the 100 per cent mark seemed far away from a while ago, but now they have done it.

Onslow has significantly powerful solar batteries at the centre of the microgrid through their beating heart is the intelligent DERMS or Distributed Energy Resources Management System. They have created this revolutionary software to manage their energy assets, balance supply, and demand, and potentially power other nearby cities and electric vehicles.

DERMS has been a boon for the city since it came into being in Australia. Their solar for home would not have been possible without them. They helped the town to reach the 100 per cent green energy consumption dream. They will continue to make predictive analyses to maximize the larger microgrids and stability for other towns and cities in Australia.

South Australia is the Leader in Renewable Energy

Western Australia has also joined the race to achieve 100 per cent green energy and resources, but South Australia is the undoubted leader in the country. Up to 60 per cent of their energy demands came from wind and solar powers, but they could produce enough renewable energy for the entire state this year from February.

Residential solar panels and solar batteries continue to power homes and businesses. They are also researching how to go to the national grid level since they construct a green energy pipeline to South Wales. Other areas surrounding the town are still dependent on coal and gas power plants, but hopefully for now long.

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