German energy company, juwi, has recently signed a contract with the University of Queensland to develop a PV / battery hybrid power project at the Heron Island Research Station in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

According to an official press release, Juwi claims the project to comprise a 500kW rooftop installation integrated with a 0.6MWh vanadium flow battery combined with diesel fueled generators via a microgrid control system. The project is expected to satisfy over 80% of the research facility’s annual electricity needs and be operational by mid-2019, said the company.

Reportedly, the new hybrid project comes on top of the success of juwi’s solar, battery hybrid project at the Degrussa Copper Mine in Western Australia, reported to be the world’s largest hybrid power project to be operational for about three years while effectively reducing the mine’s diesel consumption by over five million liters per annum.

As per Dave Manning, Global Head of Hybrid at juwi, hybrid power solutions have the potential to significantly reduce the amount of diesel consumption in pristine environments while maintaining the system’s reliability.

In addition, hybrid power stations efficiently generate clean electricity at a much lower cost compared to traditional fossil fuel power stations. Manning further added that the company is looking forward to working with the University of Queensland to deliver this landmark project on the pristine Great Barrier Reef.

For the record, juwi is one of the world’s leading companies in the field of renewable energy. The renewable energy pioneer offers project development, operations & maintenance as well as EPC services and focuses on projects related to solar and wind energy, complemented by grid integration and storage solutions.

As per reports, juwi has successfully installed more than 990 wind turbines with a total capacity of more than 2,300MW at more than 175 sites worldwide. While in the solar segment, the company has designed and developed more than 1,700 projects offering total capacity of around 2,500MW.