Aunty Kathleen Walker was one of 300 residents evacuated by helicopter from Wujal Wujal in Queensland as Cyclone Jasper unleashed unprecedented floods in December 2023. Her community was left without power. Now they are building a microgrid.
Keira Jenkins from AAP writes:
Being away from home took a toll on the tight-knit group of residents yet it was also the eventual catalyst in fulfilling their decades-long dream of launching Wujal Wujal's own solar microgrid and battery system.
The project was an idea that had come from her husband and uncle some 20 years earlier, Ms Walker says.
They had both wanted to bring renewable energy to the small community as it had long struggled through power outages and other reliability issues.
Ms Walker says the microgrid will alleviate some of the still existing anxiety about being left without power.
"I am so proud and I am so glad that I get to see this thing go ahead," she says.
Richard Schoenemann has been working with Wujal Wujal since 2019 to make its dream a reality.
His company, Volt Advisory, needed to consult closely with the local Jabalbina Corporation and Elders to develop the project, he says, because they knew what they needed.
"It's really important that remote communities get a say in where their power comes from," Mr Schoenemann adds.
"It will actually work out better in the long run."
Read more of this story by Keira Jenkins first published by Australian Associated Press