PROJECT NAME:

Off-Grid ZCell Installation

PROJECT NAME
Off-Grid ZCell Installation
SYSTEM TYPE / APPLICATION
Off-Grid – Complete System with ZCell Batteries
LOCATION
Willunga (Kaurna Country), SA
INSTALLED
Oct, 2016
KEY BRANDS
Victron, Tindo Solar, Redflow ZCell, Clenergy

PROJECT DETAIL

A residential energy system at an off-grid property in SA is the first completed customer deployment of ZCell batteries.

Previously mains power was available in only one corner of the hilly 100-hectare Willunga property, which is owned by Alan Noble, Engineering Director for Google Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Noble said extending mains power further across the hilly terrain would be substantially more expensive and less flexible than an off-grid solution. For less than 20% of the cost, two ZCell batteries can now store a combined energy capacity of 20 kilowatt hours (kWh), powered by solar panels on the roof of a large implement shed.

The batteries, which were integrated with 12 Australian-made Tindo Solar panels and two Victron battery inverters by ZCell installer Off-Grid Energy Australia, continued working uninterrupted during the storm-caused power failure that blacked out the rest of South Australia.

Mr. Noble said he had installed the ZCells to provide him with flexibility, safety and affordability. “We wanted the flexibility to build anywhere on the site without having overhead power lines,” he said.

“Secondly, we have power when we need it. If there is a bushfire here, we can power our pumps properly whereas electricity distributor SA Power Networks has a policy of actually shedding power during high bushfire risk days, so precisely when you need the power, they shut it down. Without the ZCells, we’d be running around trying to fire up generators during hot days, which is not practical.

“Also, we want to make this property as automated as possible. I want it so we can move water automatically, based on the power to turn on pumps, to turn on sprinklers and turn on any fire defences. We can only do that if we have our own on-site power.

“Last, but not least, I really like the idea of being self-sufficient. The way I see it, grid power is getting more and more expensive, so this is an investment that in the long term is going to be worth it.”

Mr. Noble said he had chosen Redflow’s ZCell zinc-bromine flow batteries rather than lithium-based alternatives for two reasons. “Firstly, they can cope with a high heat environment, which is not true of a lot of batteries,” he said.

“The other benefit is that you can have them just sitting there. Longer term, that’s less of an issue, but over the next couple of years while we’re not living here full-time, it’s nice to know that I’m not going to destroy the batteries if they’re fully discharged.

Redflow Case Study

OTHER OFF-GRID POWER PROJECTS

Mt Boothby Pastoral Off-Grid Farrowing Property

A huge effort by our team to salvage this system and provide a safe and working off-grid system for the Farrowing Property.

Burndoo Station Goat Depot

An off-grid system was required to replace the existing diesel generating plant, to offset diesel costs.

Blue Mountains Wellness Retreat

Wellness Retreat Centre looking for electricity security and power reliability.