Liquor store to harness sun's power
A South Hedland business has connected 108 roof-mounted, 37kw solar panels, complete with a battery storage system.
South Hedland Liquor Supplies underwent and passed solar installation and storage system commissioning tests on Thursday, July 10, to ensure the generation management component met Horizon Power's technical requirements.
South Hedland Liquor Supplies co-owner Brent Rudler said the investment into their business was fundamental in giving them the ability to control electricity consumption and monthly bills.
"We are operating a business out of the Pilbara where there is no shortage of sunshine, so if we didn't capitalise on that fact to improve our business operating costs, then we'd be mad," he said.
"The significant investment we have made will be paid off within three years and it was something we decided to justify to take control of the rising cost of electricity.
"We would like to thank Horizon Power for their support in helping us get this project off the ground, it is really exciting and certainly something I would encourage other Pilbara business owners to consider."
Horizon Power senior systems technology engineer Dave Edwards said many customers wanted to connect renewable energy to Horizon's electricity systems, but one of the challenges was the impact of their intermittent nature on the security and reliability of power supply for other customers.
"Horizon Power developed technical requirements for renewable energy installations, including those which are generation managed, where the electricity output can be controlled to help maintain the reliability of power supply to all our customers," he said.
"The recent availability and increased affordability of generation-managed renewable energy installations means that customers now have more choice about the size of the system they can install and could allow more renewable energy to be installed across Horizon Power's network."
For more information visit www.horizonpower.com.au .
