Far West NSW Microgrids Get $3 Million Study Funding
New South Wales committed $3 million to assess solar-powered microgrids and battery storage for four remote communities, but construction and technical capacities remain unapproved.
Published · 4 min read
The New South Wales government committed $3 million to study Far West NSW microgrids and related battery options for four remote communities on September 15, responding to reliability weaknesses exposed by the October 2024 regional power outage.
The funding will support Essential Energy pre-feasibility work on proposed solar-powered microgrids for Tibooburra and White Cliffs, plus battery-storage options for Milparinka and Packsaddle. The work does not authorize construction: Essential Energy must first assess the most practical configuration for each location and submit its findings to the state government before any decision on a later development phase.
The distinction matters because the announcement moves the proposals into funded technical assessment without confirming system capacities, battery durations, project costs, suppliers, construction dates or final investment approval. It is a resilience-planning milestone rather than a deployment milestone.
Far West NSW microgrids move into pre-feasibility work
The Far West Network Resilience Program will examine how local solar generation, batteries and islanding capability could keep electricity flowing when damage elsewhere on the network cuts remote towns off from the wider system.
Under the published scope, Tibooburra and White Cliffs are the two communities being considered for solar-powered microgrids. The assessment will also examine battery storage for Milparinka and Packsaddle, while the government considers possible support for behind-the-meter household batteries across the remote communities and Broken Hill.
New South Wales says the proposed systems would strengthen the existing network rather than take the communities permanently off-grid. Residents would remain connected in normal conditions, with a properly configured local system potentially separating from the wider network during an outage. Microgrid Media’s report on the Duke Energy Trenton community microgrid shows how a utility battery can serve customers after a defined part of a distribution system islands, although the Australian proposals have not yet reached that operating stage.
The 2024 outage established the resilience case
The new program follows an October 2024 storm that damaged transmission towers supplying Far West New South Wales. According to the state’s post-event review, more than 10,000 electricity connections lost power, affecting hospitals, communications, water and other essential services.
The review found that coordination among government agencies, energy providers and emergency services helped restore supply, but it also identified shortcomings in emergency readiness. Its recommendations included improving access to backup power, updating the state electricity emergency plan, strengthening activation protocols and providing better support for residents who depend on electricity for medical needs.
The state separately directed transmission operator Transgrid to accelerate longer-term reliability measures for the region. Those measures include work with Hydrostor on the planned 200 MW/1,600 MWh Silver City compressed-air storage project near Broken Hill and a competitive tender for a complementary solution. The Far West NSW microgrids program addresses smaller remote communities through distribution-level options and should not be conflated with those separate transmission and long-duration storage measures.
Pre-feasibility must answer project-specific questions
Essential Energy’s work will need to establish local demand profiles, critical loads, feasible sites, solar resource, storage duration, network boundaries, communications, protection settings and operating responsibility. It must also determine whether each proposed system can transition safely into islanded operation and reconnect without creating hazards for customers or field crews.
A solar-and-battery concept does not by itself guarantee continuous service through a prolonged outage. Performance depends on available solar generation, battery state of charge, weather, customer demand and which loads the controller prioritizes. If the local system becomes fully de-energized, restoration may also require tested microgrid black-start capability rather than islanding controls alone.
The projects will also require community consultation. The government said it and Essential Energy will work with First Nations communities and organizations to identify local priorities, job and business opportunities, and other benefits. The announcement did not specify procurement commitments, ownership structures or how the $3 million will be divided among the proposed studies.
Funding a study is not funding construction
Independent reporting by Renew Economy confirms the $3 million commitment and the four-community scope. It also reports that the Tibooburra work will consider an upgrade to the town’s existing diesel-backed arrangement, while White Cliffs has a proposed solar-powered microgrid.
The closest useful comparison in Microgrid Media’s archive is the Pescadero community microgrid in California, which moved ahead after securing final funding but still faces years of engineering, interconnection and construction work. The NSW proposals are earlier: they have funding for assessment, not final project funding.
The next material milestones will be Essential Energy’s completed findings, a state decision on whether each location proceeds, defined technical capacities and committed implementation funding. Until those steps occur, the Far West NSW microgrids should be described as funded pre-feasibility proposals designed to test whether local solar and storage can reduce the impact and duration of remote-community outages.
