In September 2023, Boundary Power proudly delivered the Cheese Factory Road Standalone Power System (SAPS) project for Essential Energy, marking a significant milestone in the national electricity market as the first regulated SAPS. This innovative project serves as a testament to Essential Energy’s commitment to providing reliable and resilient energy solutions to their remote customers.

Located near Bodalla, New South Wales, the SAPS installation replaced a temporary system set up in response to the Black Summer bushfires of 2020. The site now benefits from a permanent, state-of-the-art SAPS designed to ensure consistent and high-quality power supply.

The objective of this project was to design, supply, construct and install a single SAPS solution for Essential Energy. The delivery of the project aligns with Essential Energy’s Corporate Strategy to provide a sustainable and reliable power source that meets regulatory and reliability obligations. The new SAPS is designed to achieve a minimum uptime of 99.5%, minimizing generator runtime while maximizing component service life.

The Cheese Factory Road SAPS project includes several advanced features, including:

• Photovoltaic (PV) Modules: Efficient solar panels providing renewable energy.
• Battery Storage System: Ensures energy supply continuity with minimal generator use.
• Monitoring and Control Systems: Facilitates remote fault finding, remote operation, auto changeover, and data trending.

Boundary Power oversaw all facets of this SAPS project, including engineering and design, system construction, delivery, installation, and commissioning. The SAPS components were assembled at the manufacturing facilities of Ampcontrol, Boundary Power’s joint venture partner, in Welshpool, WA. The system was then transported to Tomago, NSW for Factory Acceptance Testing, which was observed by Essential Energy staff. Following this, the system was shipped to the site for installation and commissioning.