The site The Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary, owned and managed by Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), is one of the most significant nature reserves in northern Australia.

Mornington is situated in the heart of an area recognised in 2002 by Conservation International as one of the world’s last true wilderness areas. In conjunction with AWC’s neighbouring reserve, Marion Downs, the contiguous area is amongst the world’s largest private reserves, covering 640,000 hectares. In late 2006, the Sanctuary was named by the World Wildlife Fund – Australia (WWF) as one of Australia’s top ten nature reserves and the ‘Non-Government Nature Reserve of the Decade’.

The Mornington sanctuary protects a diversity of ecosystems, including several ecosystems that are not protected in any existing national parks. Over 200 bird species and potentially more than 30 mammal species find refuge on Mornington.

AWC’s decision to invest in a solar hybrid system at the sanctuary was based on the need to reduce emissions and draw energy from a renewable resource. Moreover, with a good consistent supply of sun in the Kimberley region, the increasing cost of diesel and its transport and the opportunity to reduce generator running time and create a better atmosphere for guests and staff, the solar hybrid system was an obvious solution.

Other factors influencing the decision to install a solar hybrid system included the growing energy requirements of a fully functioning laboratory and research facility and the need to embrace an opportunity to showcase renewable energy production for the Kimberley community, others in the industry and AWC supporters. Finally, the keen interest of willing financial partners, chiefly in the form of donors, saw the system’s successful installation.

Technology The Mornington solar system’s 192 solar modules, battery bank and inverter all had to be durable to withstand the Mornington sanctuary environment.

Energy Applications recommended Mornington sanctuary station install BP Solar modules. The 165 watt modules are suited for residential and commercial applications both on-grid and remote.

The Kimberley is a tough region and can be tough on batteries so it was very important to ensure that the battery bank at Mornington offered both reliability and durability without sacrificing performance.

Energy Applications suggested the utilisation of Enersun solar RAP batteries manufactured by CYB as they are well suited to the environmental conditions. A patented semi-automatic filling system was also installed to reduce the level of maintenance required and lengthen the life of the battery bank. A 40 kilowatt (kW) 3-phase inverter charger manufactured by Selectronic was selected to suit the task required at Mornington.

Local AWC staff regularly download performance data direct from the inverter and then email it to Melbourne for analysis. However, ongoing maintenance, repairs and tweaking the system for optimum performance has proved to be somewhat problematic. As the system employs new technology that is still in trial phase, it is difficult to resolve problems quickly when they occur.

The system is required to manage seasonally variable loads, with approximately ten people in residence during the wet and sometimes in excess of 100 people during the dry. AWC staff are currently trying to determine if there is any trade-off in panel performance at very high temperatures. Regardless of panel performance, appliances have a significantly higher draw at very high temperatures.

The central Kimberley can be a dry, dusty environment so AWC staff are engaged in a fortnightly solar panel washing roster. AWC has found that large amounts of dust can reduce performance but that a simple regular wash can increase output of panels by up to ten per cent.

Energy purchase and supply Selectronic’s analysis of the system’s data showed that the 31.68 kW system generates up to 169 kW of electricity per annum. The diesel generator is currently providing 140 watt hours per day compared with 45 kilowatt hours (kWh) in July. The average daily KWh supplied by the solar hybrid system in two consecutive weeks in September was 285 kWh.

The plant is connected to Mornington Wilderness Camp and Wildlife Sanctuary. Diesel fuel is supplied to the plant by Shell via semi trailer transport from Broome along with Mornington’s bulk order supply for vehicles and machinery.

Future outlook and success of the project to date Based on latest performance figures, Mornington is operating on approximately 75 per cent solar and AWC is looking into the use of solar energy generation at other sites.

AWC has forecast a saving of about 21,000 litres of diesel per year, in spite of expanding the facilities and going to 24-hour power.

An AWC spokesperson said that apart from some minor glitches there has been good, clean and fairly regular power, with less maintenance, noise and fumes.

Moreover, the solar system has generated a greater awareness of the need for responsible power use amongst staff and camp visitors.

There has been a recent focus on energy efficiency at the park. AWC has gone through a comprehensive program to replace aged infrastructure and appliances with more energy efficient ones. A building program at Mornington to increase accommodation for sanctuary staff has employed solar efficient building practices to ensure comfortable accommodation can be supplied without the need for air conditioners. Finally, infrastructure construction augments solar hybrid power with solar hot water system.

Funding arrangements and acknowledgements Design and installations: Energy Applications, Damien Slate Selectronic & BCSE accredited F1606.

Project funding: The system achieved funding for the project from the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program scheme via SEDO WA. The project claims Renewable Energy Certificates through Green Energy Trading.

Peter Seligman was the primary private financial contributor and continues to maintain strong interest in performance of system. Acknowledgement should also go to James Brown from Power Solutions.