Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund – Microgrids

This program will fund feasibility studies looking at microgrid technologies to replace, upgrade or supplement existing electricity supply arrangements in off-grid and fringe-of grid communities located in regional and remote areas. For the purpose of the program, a microgrid is an electricity supply arrangement that can (but may not always) function autonomously, and generates and supplies electricity to multiple customers.

The objective of the program is to support regional and remote communities to investigate whether replacing, upgrading or supplementing a microgrid or upgrading existing off-grid and fringe-of-grid supply with microgrid or related new energy technologies would be cost effective.

The intended outcomes of the program are:

• improved regional business, community services and emergency resilience through innovative microgrid solutions
• scaled-up and improved microgrid systems in regional and remote communities
• increased human capital (skills/knowledge) in the design and deployment of microgrids
• demonstrated commerciality and/or reliability and security benefits of deploying and upgrading microgrids
• reduced barriers to microgrid uptake in remote and regional communities
• increased dissemination of technology and/or project knowledge regarding the deployment and upgrading of  microgrids.