How did Pacific Solar help save BidFood $1.6 million in energy costs at their Dandenong facility?
Synopsis
On the outskirts of Melbourne lies the cold-storage facility in Dandenong, where a 210 kilowatt system has been installed. The system comprises of 532 LG 400 watt panels, known for their high-efficiency and premium quality, paired with seven Fronius inverters. The north-south aspect of the roof has resulted in the rows on the north side being closer together and tilted at 15 degrees. The panels have been spaced further apart on the other side to avoid shadowing. The solar power generated can supply the entire building with energy.
The stability of the energy load for cold-storage facilities has made solar energy very relevant for these types of buildings. Solar energy can cover up to 40% of the load for buildings that have fridges running 24/7. With a return on investment of 4.6 years, the system will pay for itself conservatively over a 25 year period. The higher efficiency of LG panels ensures more power is generated every day, resulting in long-term savings. The installation of solar panels is a low-cost investment that saves businesses substantial amounts of money on energy costs and provides energy security for the next 25 years.
Video Transcript
- [Austin] Today we're at the cold-storage facility in Dandenong, which is just on the outskirts of Melbourne. The job here today is a 210 kilowatt system, 532 LG 400 watt panels - they're the high-efficiency, premium panels on the market. Paired that up with seven Fronius inverters. It all ties into the main switchboard and produces power enough to supply this entire building.
- On this job here, because we've got a north-south aspect to the roof, the rows on this north side are a little bit closer together, all the panels are tilted up at 15 degrees. So, on the other side, with the roof slanting back towards the south a little bit, we've just spaced the rows a bit further, just so that the row in front doesn't shadow the row behind.
- [Austin] The solar for cold-storage facilities is very relevant just because it's a very stable energy load. They have the fridges on 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the solar energy can cover about 40% of their load. The return on investment on this particular site is 4.6 years until the system pays for itself. We set that up conservatively with a 3% increase on their rate of power, over the next 25 years. So the site here at this cold-storage facility has got a 210 kilowatt system - it's going to save them $80,000 dollars in the first year. At the 25 year mark, the system will still be producing and they'll have a total saving of $1.6 million dollars. We get to these figures because we analyze the interval data for the site, we design the system to suit their actual requirements that they need. Through that data we get at every 15 minutes, it's very accurate, then we base that on weather data from the Bureau of Meteorology that goes back 20 years.
The LG panels will return a higher efficiency, so the higher efficiency they'll return more power every day, long term, for the next 25 years. It makes sense to go for the more premium-grade panel.
- I think that energy saving is a real cost for businesses these days, so if they can save anywhere then solar is a pretty easy, low-cost investment. For customers like this, it is about saving money. The solar is really an easy decision to make, it saves a substantial amount of money, reduces their energy costs, and gives them energy security for the next 25 years. I think installing solar is really an easy decision for a lot of commercial businesses. If you own the roof space, you are going to save money, it's as simple as that.