Australia's largest roll out of solar power to remote communicates is now complete.
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The $59 million program, co-funded by the Territory Government and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, will deliver cleaner power to 25 sites across the Territory.
Meanwhile, Katherine still waits for the construction phase of its own solar farm to start.
Despite hopes the site would be in the development stage by October last year, it has been postponed until the first quarter of this year.
The Solar Energy Transformation Program (SETuP) aims to reduce diesel use by 15 per cent in targeted communities, which adds up to 94 million litres of diesel savings over the life of the program (25 years).
Dale Wakefield, the Minister for Renewables, Energy and Essential Services, said the program is an important step forward in achieving the NT Government's target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
"SETuP will help to support cleaner power for Territorians in remote communities by reducing reliance on costly diesel, and also air pollution.
"ARENA is our partner in this significant program that will deliver for remote Territorians in decades to come. I thank them for their continued partnership and investment in the Territory.
"The SETuP program was delivered by Power and Water. The program has won engineering excellence awards and due to the hard work and innovation by staff, the Territory is now seen as a leader in remote hybrid power generation."
SETuP integrates 10MW of solar PV in remote locations with existing power stations, resulting in remote hybrid power generation.
This reduces reliance on costly diesel for electricity generation, and delivers reliable and safe power to remote locations.
ARENA CEO, Darren Miller, praised those involved in the "ambitious project".
"This is a fantastic achievement for all involved in completing this ambitious project to deliver the largest roll out of renewable energy to remote, off grid communities in the Northern Territory.
"By installing solar power systems across these 25 communities, this project will help these communities to reduce their reliance on diesel.
"Now integrated, these communities can increase their uptake of renewables and have the option to add batteries to store their solar energy in the future.
Mr Miller said he aim's to replicate the program's successes across further communities.
The SETuP program was delivered by Power and Water Corporation and the existing funding agreement with ARENA will go through to April 2022 for performance reporting.
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