earthconnect’s odyssey

CONNECTING THE DOTS...

Now in its eleventh year of trading, earthconnect has delivered more than 43MW of solar energy solutions and clocked up a number of significant achievements.

earthconnect ground mounted services include accurate predictions using power system modelling tools that compare yields for individual sites and includes comprehensive information to precisely evaluate feasibility for grid connect hybrid and stand-alone solar systems FOR MORE THAN A DECADE the team at Australian owned and operated earthconnect has been providing solar energy EPC solutions to the commercial, industrial and large-scale sectors of the renewable energy market both locally and internationally.

By mid-year earthconnect has notched up some big numbers: 13.5MW in commercial PV projects; 8.0MW solar farm (Asia) install, 17.1MW in residential installation, and 25,000 litres in commercial solar thermal projects.

Project Manager Darcy Haines says an additional 6MW of commercial roof mount solar projects are currently in various stages of feasibility, with a development application currently before a local council and the NSW Joint Regional Planning Panel for the next solar farm project sized at 7.85MW DC, 5MW AC.

In late 2019 earthconnect struck a landmark when it was able to fully commission the 5MW Hunter Solar Farm, enabling the project to move into the final phase of revenue service.

It presented several challenges, Darcy Haines said, most significantly satisfying the design criteria set by local council and flood mitigation stipulation. “The solar farm is constructed in an area which is a recognised flood zone so we were faced with minimum AHD (Australian Height Datum) challenges in order to ensure that the solar panels were mounted above the set 1 in 100 year flood event for that region at 52m AHD,” she explained.

“This ensured that floating debris being carried by flood waters wouldn’t impact and damage the array, causing equipment to break free, and further increase

earthconnect specialises in turnkey solar energy solutions, which are coupled with operation and maintenance programs complete with back office monitoring, to ensure that solar energy solutions are performing as initially designed. Services are listed as follows: • Commercial projects – engineer, design, procure, install, test, commission, monitor, maintain, turnkey solution provider. • Residential projects – domestic grid connect/ hybrid/off grid engineer, design, procure, install, test, commission, monitor, maintain, turnkey solution provider. the risk of persons or property being impacted by waterborne hazards.”

A major project objective was to ensure the site was left in a better condition than when it commenced, so the team incorporated a Vegetation Management Plan that included planting of new native flora.

Another stellar example can be found in the 310.6kW solar energy system earthconnect completed for the University of Newcastle that will provide approximately 452.6MWh of renewable energy annually and an estimated reduction in CO2 emissions of 484,282kg. The system is integrated with the University’s Energy Management System and equipped with Solar Analytics Monitoring services to ensure optimum performance.

“Aside from our megawatt projects, our small business unit continues to deliver ~100kW solar systems to our smaller commercial clients,” she told Smart Energy.

In Darcy’s view there is only so much that C&I energy consumers can do to reduce their energy bills through tariff rate negotiations and improvements in production processes and energy efficiency, so it makes sense to provide surety for their businesses from exposure to increasing energy costs by generating their own energy from the sun from their rooftops.

Asked about industry developments she said “Over the years the most obvious improvements which we all have witnessed is the yield per square metre of solar panels driven by technological improvements in cell construction, efficiencies and the manner in which cells are interconnected, and the generation density for a given solar project.

“It wasn’t all that long ago that we were seeing 145w/ m², now it’s closer to 265w/m².

She commented that should policies change and government incentives encourage individuals, SMEs and C&I customers to invest in their own futures through solar energy generation, Australia will have a far better chance of achieving its renewable energy targets as well as stimulating the economy through investment in renewables.

But for earthconnect, the forward order book is looking bright.

To help showcase its abilities the earth connect team recently updated the business website and produced Capabilities statements for Ground Mount and Roof Mount systems. https://earthconnect-australia.com/

• Special projects – solar thermal solutions, energy efficiency consultancy, micro grid solutions, commercial hybrid solutions, remote monitoring stations, cogeneration/trigeneration technology, project services provider, project management consultants.