Topic: Supply of Power and Water to Remote Indigenous Communities in the Pilbara
Currently, drinking water used by many remote Indigenous communities in Western Australia does not meet the quality standards for potable water. This is having a negative impact on the health and well-being of the Indigenous people including higher numbers of Kidney failure cases. Desalination of bore water to remove traces of heavy metals like Arsenic and Nitrates will be done by using power generated by Solar and Wind energy.
Excess Solar and Wind energy can be used to charge batteries and produce Hydrogen from Desalinated water using electrolysers. The stored hydrogen together with Fuel Cells and Lithium and Vanadium Flow Battery can be used to meet the power demands during day and night in remote communities. The desalinated water blended with bore water in an appropriate ratio will provide sufficient drinking water for the communities. The blending of water will help to optimise the desalination equipment and reduce the overall power consumption of the desalination process.
The research project will help to reduce emissions by using renewable energy in place of diesel generator sets currently used for power generation in many remote communities.
The research aims to identify and optimise cost-effective options for providing quality drinking water and reliable power supply in remote communities, varying from small to large sizes.
The system can be set up as Solar PV – Hydrogen – Fuel Cell – Battery system along with Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) solutions to address seasonal variations in solar and wind-based power generation.
Production of good quality potable water and power using Solar and Wind Energy will result in health benefits and reduced emissions from Diesel Generators used in remote Indigenous communities.
Presenters:
Benny Abraham, Phd Student at Murdoch University, Harry Butler Institute of Murdoch University (HBI MU)
A Chemical Engineer by profession, Benny has worked in the Oil Refining and Natural Gas industry for more than 30 years in Australia, Middle East and India.
He is currently doing PhD at Murdoch University, Western Australia on Integrated Drinking Water and Renewable Energy based Power Supply for remote Aboriginal communities in WA.
He is a member of Engineers Australia and on the Editorial Board of the online journal “Energy” published by the Institution of Civil Engineers, UK.
Furat Dawood, PhD Candidate at Murdoch University, Harry Butler Institute of Murdoch University (HBI MU)
Furat is the founder of the Hydrogen Energy (H2E) Group and a committee member of the Hydrogen Society of Australia (HSA).
He began his academic career in electrical and communication engineering before transitioning to energy systems. He has combined his expertise in these two fields to become an expert of Renewable Energy and Carbon Reporting.
He is currently pursuing a PhD degree at Murdoch University in Hydrogen Energy Systems.
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