Technology Park company wins Mexican electric power contract

Five hundred people in a remote Mexican village are about to be given their first electric power scheme - thanks to scientists and engineers working at Perth's Technology Park.

Deputy Premier Ian Taylor announced today that one of the park's major companies, Advanced Energy Systems Pty Ltd (AES), had just won a contract with the Mexican Government to take part in a $1 million project and supply the advanced electronics which will control the power scheme.

"What makes the order so significant is not just that it is one of the largest yet placed with Technology Park but that it has been secured in the face of some extremely tough international competition," Mr Taylor said.

"In fact, winning the order is a clear demonstration that products now coming out of Technology Park are world standard."

Mr Taylor said AES was hoping that the order would be the first of a series designed to bring power to remote Central American communities.

"The Mexican Government is eager to stem the population drift from rural areas to the city, and one way it believes this can be done is to provide some of the services that city people enjoy, such as electricity," the Minister said.

The AES system will be controlling power generated by ten wind turbines, 1,000 solar energy panels and a diesel generator.

"It will be the job of the control unit to make sure the power scheme always operates with the cheapest combination of energy sources," Mr Taylor said.

"For example, the computer inside the unit will only switch on the diesel generator if there is too little wind for the wind generators and insufficient sunlight for the solar collectors."

The power scheme is designed to generate some 40 kW of electricity.

Mr Taylor said Technology Park was quickly making an international name for itself in energy research and development.

Smaller control units were now being exported to the United States and the British Government had recently placed orders for similar equipment to control wind generators in four English villages.

Mr Taylor said AES was a partner in the park's newest research laboratory - which brought together scientists and engineers from Murdoch University's energy research institute, Curtin University's power electronics research unit and SECWA.

With Federal and State Government assistance the group was now working on a series of research projects designed to reduce energy costs - particularly the cost of renewable energy and its application in remote areas.

"Much of Australia's research into this important aspect of energy supply is going on here at Tech Park," Mr Taylor said.

"The participants in laboratory have recognised the commercial importance of this research and the export order from Mexico has proved them correct."

Mr Taylor said arrangements were being made by the venture's participants to move into a purpose-built laboratory as part of the State Government's contribution to power electronics research.