Generating a power solution for Micronesia

Electrical systems manufacturer RJE Global Pty Ltd is building two diesel generators at its headquarters in Adelaide, South Australia, which it will install in the Pacific nation next month.

The company provides tailored electrical services to the global mining and heavy industrial sectors through a range of diesel and renewable energy projects. It specialises in control, grid connection solutions, switchrooms and generator sets. RJE’s products are tested and built in Adelaide and installed on-site, eliminating the need for additional trials or construction.

It has designed many bespoke electrical solutions for leading companies such as Rio Tinto and is building a replacement system for the Chuuk State Power Station in Micronesia.

Chuuk is one of Micronesia’s four states and is home to more than 50,000 people. The existing generators in the state’s capital Weno are coming to the end of their life cycle.

RJE Managing Director Robin Johnson said the two new 1.8 MW diesel generators would increase access to electricity.

“Each product is designed specific for a customer’s needs and ready to go once it’s built,” he said. “We are working closely with the power authorities (at Weno Island) and are building the electrical infrastructure as well as the switchroom to go along with it in Adelaide at the moment.

“It’ll be finished in the next few weeks and then will be simple to install once it arrives there.”

Johnson said Micronesia’s remote location made it difficult to obtain quality electrical systems. The few islands that have generators experience frequent shutdowns and limited hours of service because of the unreliable energy supply.

The Chuuk electricity grid serves about 80% of Weno’s population but the new project would increase the power supply reach to 95%.

The project consists of two enclosed GE 12V228 diesel engines to form a 13.8 kV 60 Hz 2 MW generator set. It also includes a corrosion-proof and fireproof switch room for medium-voltage distribution and control.

The new site will assist with maintaining a reliable power source for Weno as well as the surrounding villages and is projected to be fully operational early next year.

Johnson said RJE’s base location, and Southeast Asian offices in Myanmar, Indonesia and Mongolia, made it the ideal electrical solutions facilitator for the Asia–Pacific region.

“In Adelaide we are able to source a lot of good suppliers in the Adelaide region with enormous support,” he said. “The only other people that do what we do, to the quality we do, are in the United States, Europe and South Korea. The US and Europe are too far away to service this region and then you have the language barrier with Korea.

“We may be stuck in one corner of the world, but from the operational perspective we deliver unique quality systems — we are the low-risk solution.”