Powering on with solar

Tasked with providing 24/7 site power solutions for a 200MW solar farm construction site set on a solar farm built on more than 300 acres of grazed agricultural land in Wellington NSW, Makinex recently showed what expertise and product knowledge can deliver. The solution had to power a 6mx3m office and lunchroom for site security that stood on its own at the road front and meet a number of challenges. Being close to the road and residents meant a quieter running option with fewer traffic movements was desired. The shed also needed to be relocatable if required. While a connection to grid electricity would provide silent power, it would be costly, involve a longer set-up time, and need further work if the customer relocated the shed. The customer had decided on a diesel generator as it was cost-effective and portable. However, it did not meet the brief of a quieter solution and seemed counterproductive to burn diesel fuel 24/7 on a renewable energy site.

Makinex determined the 20kVA Hybrid power system (HPS) was the optimal solution. The HPS met the customer’s brief of being easy to deploy, relocate, and simple to install, like a portable generator. It can run 24/7 with no disruptions to the residents as the diesel generator component of the HPS would only run every couple of days for a few hours and at designated times during the day. Over 22 weeks, the HPS 20 operated 24/7, with the diesel generator component running for only 7 % of the time. The results were a 93% reduction in generator run time, which directly relates to a significant decrease in fuel usage and servicing costs. This reduction in run time also reduced the traffic to the site, further reducing noise and improving site safety. The added benefit of having reduced emissions on a renewable energy project was the cherry on top. Running the HPS as compared to a similar diesel generator for the same period reduced CO₂ Emissions by 20 tonnes. “When the Makinex Team presented Kennards Hire with the opportunity to test the new hybrid generator, I instantly recognized this was an innovation that solved many challenges,” Konrad Stempniak, general manager from Kennards Group, said. “The ability to run silently when on battery mode, environmental improvements with less emissions, and optimized fuel costs were immediately identified. Furthermore, the inclusion of telematics allows my project teams to gain insight into numerous diagnostics — fuel levels, current draw, fault codes, at the click of a button, even when the unit is 100’s of kilometres away.” The project shows by delivering portable, cleaner, quiet power and mitigating expenses involved with traditional grid or portable generator power, the HPS is everything it set out to be.

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