Solar panels power pumping water along Swan Reach-Stockwell pipeline in South Australia from 2021
Solar panels power the pumping of water from the South Australian section of River Murray along the Swan Reach-to-Stockwell and Morgan-to-Whyalla pipelines, as part of SA Water zero cost energy future initiative.
Images courtesy SA Water
More than 7,300 solar panels began powering one of SA Water’s major drinking water pipelines between the River Murray and South Australia’s Barossa Valley in 2021.
Installed at the second pump station on the Swan Reach-to-Stockwell pipeline, the large solar array would reduce SA Water’s operating costs in delivering clean safe drinking water from the Swan Reach water filtration plant to thousands of customers in the Barossa region.
SA Water’s senior manager zero cost energy future Nicola Murphy said the solar array would generate around 5224 megawatt hours of clean green energy every year while helping to pump water the 50 kilometres along the pipeline from Swan Reach on the River Murray to Stockwell in the northern Barossa Valley area. Murphy said SA Water was able to offset its energy needs using solar power without altering the important operations of the water filtration plant and “this solar array is a terrific example of how we can make a real difference in slashing carbon emissions to the tune of around 2,240 tonnes every year”.
Another 16,000 solar panels also were being added in the Swan Reach region to at the pipeline’s first pump station. These added to 30-plus other solar sites strategically placed at SA Water’s treatment plants, pump stations and depots across South Australia, reducing its operating expenses and helping to keep prices low and stable.
SA Water’s zero cost energy future initiative has seen more than 360,000 solar panels positioned at sites like the Bolivar wastewater treatment plant, Adelaide desalination plant, and major pump stations along the Morgan-to-Whyalla pipeline, with all sites to be energised and connected to the national electricity grid. Murphy said: “This initiative was designed by our people, and shows South Australians leading the way with the smarts and skills to integrate renewable energy and storage across our existing plants, pump stations and other land holdings.”
