Defense sites in the Northern Territory installed two adjacent solar farms. One has approximately 4 megawatts (MW) of solar generation and 700 kilowatts (kW) of batteries, while the other includes approximately 10 MW of solar generation and 2 MW of batteries. Their outputs connected to the defense 11 kilovolt (kV) high-voltage networks, where solar power supported site load and any excess power was exported to the grid through the defense site incomers.
Our team was contracted to augment the high-voltage (HV) networks and control systems to support the solar farms, and we delivered the full scope across both defense sites. Our engineers installed new HV switchboards for photovoltaic (PV) connections and replaced existing HV protection relays with intelligent electronic devices (IED), modernizing protection across the network. We also installed and commissioned a new site-wide fiber optic network to support communications across the upgraded infrastructure and updated existing SCADA systems to reflect the new network configurations.
Our experts designed, constructed, installed, and commissioned seven remote terminal unit (RTU) panels and a new mimic panel. To protect site operations throughout the transition, we built a simulation system to fully bench test each incremental change to the grid control system (GCS) before deployment. This approach enabled a progressive cutover of multiple substations while maintaining intermediate HV network configurations, and ensured site operators retained full control of their facilities at every stage.
Benefits
- Augmented HV networks across two critical defense sites
- Commissioned seven RTU panels and one new mimic panel
- Maintained operator control throughout every cutover stage
- Enabled solar generation of up to 14 MW across both sites