OUR wool and beef property lies in the southern rangelands of Western Australia, 1100 km north-east of Perth, and about halfway between the west coast and the South Australian border. We have always had to provide our own power, starting with a 32 volt generator in the 1930s and graduating to 240 volt in the seventies, when we retained the 32 volt and its bank of batteries to have lights 24 hours a day, but used the 240 volt for all our appliances.

The condition of the wiring had deteriorated to a dangerous extent when we heard about the Remote Area Power Supply (RAPS) scheme to subsidise the replacement of diesel generated power in remote areas. Although the capital outlay was considerable, even with the subsidy taken into account, the decision was inevitable that we ‘go solar’. Otherwise we were in danger of losing everything we owned in a house fire.

After speaking to others who had already switched to solar, we approached a small company in Perth to come out and quote. They filled out a lengthy form with all our present and future power needs (electric fridge! — to us, an amazing luxury when we’d only just upgraded from kerosene to gas — freezer, bread maker, what about a microwave?). I found it hard to imagine having all these fancy appliances after so long making do with the basics.

We then had to complete an application form for the RAPS subsidy and submit it to the WA Office of Energy. We were approved and the process began. We chose the company because they promised the complete package: purchase of components, installation, and follow-up service. Other operators at the time were only doing the installation, and mix ups were occurring over the wrong parts being ordered, and so on.

The first job was to rip out all the old wiring, both 32 and 240 volt. What a mess. It was a miracle the house hadn’t burnt down years ago. The new wiring was to go underground, so the electrician had brought along a small ditch witch. They only hit one water pipe, which is pretty good because we’d long since forgotten where they all were.

Kathy’s system includes 8 X 6 volt battery cells connected to a 48 volt inverter.

The system consists of an array of 16 X 80 watt solar panels supplying energy to a bank of 8 X 6 volt batteries via two battery chargers. An inverter steps the current up from 48 volts to 240 volts. On a typical day this system will run a large two-door fridge/freezer, washing machine, bread maker, iron, stereo, TV, computer, lights and ceiling fans and still have enough in reserve to go through the night.

At the moment we still use gas freezers, but will probably change to electric once they’ve run their course. At that point we’ll need to add more panels to meet the increased power requirements.

To supply power to two houses, the shearers’ quarters, workshop and sundry buildings, the final cost was $41,000. This included nearly $7,000 to replace all the wiring and we were entitled to a $16,000 subsidy.

Even though the exercise has been quite costly, our quality of life has certainly improved markedly for having 24 hour power. No longer is it necessary to juggle the domestic chores so that they coincide with the running of the generator. I used to try and vacuum, make a cake, do four loads of washing and ironing, and watch my favourite TV show all at once! The generator is now only used to boost the batteries on cloudy days, and to run the submersible pump. (The initial power load required to start the pump is too high for the batteries). So there are huge savings on diesel and wear and tear on the motor.

The WA Government is now offering further financial assistance for people in remote areas to upgrade their systems. At the moment we feel our needs are being met but it is comforting to know that support is there should our circumstances change.

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