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Marble Bar and Nullagine Microgrid

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations6
System facts21
Sources reviewed8
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

This is an umbrella record for two separate Horizon Power town systems in Western Australia's Pilbara: Marble Bar and Nullagine, about 88 km apart. The original combined portfolio comprised about 505-508 kW of tracked solar, 2.24 MW of diesel generation, and one 500 kW flywheel at each town under ABB/Powercorp controls. Marble Bar was integrated in May 2010 and Nullagine in October 2010. Contemporary case-study data reported roughly 30% annual solar contribution at each site, much higher instantaneous/daylight penetration, substantial diesel displacement, and improved interruption performance. It overlaps intentionally with the separate `marble-bar` record; that component record should be used for Marble Bar-only updates.

Research status
Both towns remain active Horizon Power service areas and their solar stations remain described by the utility. The original architecture is no longer uniform: Marble Bar commissioned a central BESS in 2021, and a current control-engineering case study says its original ABB flywheel reached end-of-life and the storage/control system is being replaced or upgraded. No equivalent recent technical update was found for Nullagine, so its current flywheel condition, solar share, and storage availability are unverified. Do not describe the pair as one electrically interconnected microgrid.
Historical classification
Community
Reported capacity
4,940 kW
Coordinates
-21.17143, 119.74352
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Marble Bar and Nullagine Microgrid?

6 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

ABB

Supplier/support organization for the PowerStore flywheels and Microgrid Plus control platform in the original design. [5][8]

Organization

Australian Government Remote Renewable Power Generation Program

Provided a shared A$4.9 million grant toward the two original projects. [3]

Organization

Horizon Power

Owner/operator and developer of both isolated town power systems. [3][6][7]

Organization

Hybrid Systems Australia

Supplied and installed Marble Bar's later central battery energy storage system; this role does not apply to Nullagine. [7]

Organization

Powercorp

Provided original control integration, civil works, and energy-storage/control technology later incorporated into ABB's portfolio. [3][5]

Organization

SunPower Australia

Solar supplier/contractor and initial panel operator in the original projects. [3]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Solar
508 [1]
KW Gas/Diesel
2280 [1]
Storage
1000 kW Flywheels [1]
Combined original solar capacity
Approximately 505-508 kW: 302 kW at Marble Bar plus 203 kW at Nullagine in the ARENA case study; later rounded descriptions use 300 kW plus 200 kW or 508 kW combined. [3][4][5]
Combined diesel capacity
2.24 MW: Marble Bar 4 x 320 kW (1.28 MW) and Nullagine 3 x 320 kW (0.96 MW). [3][4]
Original flywheel storage
One 500 kW PowerStore flywheel at each town; ABB material gives 16.5 MW-seconds per unit. This is high-power, short-duration storage, not a 500 kWh battery. [3][5]
Solar module counts
Horizon Power's current education page describes 1,350 panels at Marble Bar and 900 at Nullagine. Module wattage and whether these counts reflect replacement or expansion were not stated. [6]
Historical renewable share
ARENA's operating case study reported about 30% annual solar energy at Marble Bar and 30-40% at Nullagine, with approximately 65% daytime solar at Marble Bar and high instantaneous penetration. Horizon's education page now says the solar stations can provide up to 87% of daytime power, a different metric and period. [3][6]
Historical diesel savings
ABB reported approximately 405,000 litres per year at Marble Bar and 400,000 litres per year at Nullagine, with roughly 1,100 tonnes of CO2 avoided annually at each site. These are historical/vendor case-study figures, not verified current performance. [5]
Marble Bar replacement BESS
Commissioned in 2021; Horizon Power disclosed that it enabled more than 100 kW of additional rooftop-solar hosting but did not publish battery MW, MWh, chemistry, or model in the source reviewed. [7]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Photovoltaic arrays

SunPower

Ground-mounted, sun-tracking arrays at both towns; published capacities are 302 kW at Marble Bar and 203 kW at Nullagine. [3]

02

Flywheel storage

ABB / Powercorp — PowerStore

Original 500 kW, 16.5 MW-second flywheel at each site for grid-forming/stability support and high renewable penetration. Marble Bar's unit is now reported end-of-life; Nullagine's current condition was not found. [5][8]

03

Microgrid controller

ABB / Powercorp — Microgrid Plus

Original supervisory and generator/renewable integration platform for the two diesel-solar-flywheel systems. [5]

04

Battery energy storage

Hybrid Systems Australia

Later central BESS at Marble Bar only; supplier, inverter, cell chemistry, and nameplate ratings were not disclosed in the utility announcement. [7]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • General

    PV/diesel Microgrid with PowerStore grid-stabilizing technology and Microgrid Plus System by ABB [1]

  • Storage

    Flywheel Storage [1]

  • Record boundary

    This portfolio record aggregates two independent isolated grids for comparative reporting. The towns are not connected by a shared microgrid feeder. The separate `marble-bar` record is a component-level duplicate, not an additional third project. [3][4]

  • Original operating strategy

    Tracked PV displaced diesel while the flywheel and Microgrid Plus controls supplied rapid balancing/grid support, allowing very high instantaneous solar penetration without treating the flywheel as bulk-duration storage. [3][5]

  • Reliability outcome

    ARENA's case study reports Marble Bar outage duration falling from 38 minutes in 2009-10 to 8 minutes in 2010-11 and Nullagine from 110 minutes to zero over the same comparison period. The result is historical and not a current reliability guarantee. [3]

  • Storage operating lesson

    A later independent case study reported parasitic nighttime losses from the flywheel and said Horizon Power would likely choose a battery if repeating the design. Marble Bar subsequently did commission a BESS. [4][7]

  • Current evidence gap

    No recent public source was found giving a combined present-day generation mix, Nullagine storage condition, current diesel consumption, or the Marble Bar BESS's rated power and energy. [6][7][8]

Provenance

8 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  2. [2]
  3. [3]
    Renewable Energy in the Australian Mining Sector - Case Study Appendix

    Australian Renewable Energy Agency / AECOM · Primary source

  4. [4]
    Remote but Connected: Two Australian Communities Go Solar

    Rocky Mountain Institute · Secondary research

  5. [5]
  6. [6]
    Generating Electricity: Renewable Energy

    Horizon Power · Primary source

  7. [7]
  8. [8]
    Marble Bar Power Plant Control Systems Engineering

    Australian Control Engineering · Primary source

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