Farmers are getting renewable Standalone Power Systems as Western Australia's regional power grid is dismantled Devastating summer bushfires torched the power poles and knocked Craig Poultney's farm off-grid, but there's a silver lining: the solar panels and batteries that were installed the following winter.The vast and expensive state-owned network that crisscrosses the wheat and canola fields, bringing electric light and power to remote farmhouses, is being partly dismantled.A sprawling grid larger than the UK At Craig Poultney's farm near Corrigin, about three hour's drive east of Perth, the SPS hums quietly in a paddock near the main house.Before the fires, electricity travelled across the state to get to the Poultney family's house, beginning its journey at one of several coal-fired power stations at least 200km away.For about the last 10km of that journey, it was travelling down power lines that had few other users, meaning the cost-per-customer of supplying the power was enormous."