Western Australia’s Peel Business Park is powering over 50 percent of its site through an innovative solar, battery and microgrid solution, with an expected annual output of over 3 GWh that will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 2,100 tons per annum.
Developed in conjunction with owner / operator client Peel Renewable Energy and Avora Energy, FIMER designed a customized solar, battery and microgrid solution to supply power to the Peel Business Park in Nambeelup Western Australia.
Fully integrated and commissioned in March 2021, it is the first-ever renewable energy microgrid in Australia to power an industrial estate. The energy solution will deliver safe, reliable and green energy to the tenants of the estate at an expected energy cost savings of around 30 percent compared to published tariffs in Western Australia.
The Peel Business Park is a multi-staged 1,000-hectare greenfield industrial estate being developed in Nambeelup (approximately 70km south of Perth) in Western Australia. Due to the remoteness of this new industrial area, an existing power connection to the tradional grid did not exist, and it was not economically feasible to construct and extend a new full-supply grid connection to the site.
An onsite, behind the meter solar and battery solution was highlighted as a the most cost-effective, reliable and sustainable alternative to a traditional servicing approach. By utilizing a smart renewables microgrid solution, the business park will now use locally generated renewable energy direct from an onsite solar farm, along with a battery energy storage system, to power over 50 percent of the site.
The renewable energy solution includes a 1.2 MW solar farm, incorporating over 2772 bi-facial 440W panels with a NEXTracker single axis tracking system, a FIMER skid mounted solar and battery inverter system with Medium Voltage power distribution system and a 2.5 MWh Saft battery energy storage system.
The FIMER solution was designed specifically for this project. With over 12 months of planning across multiple teams in Australia and Europe, the customised 40” skid incorporates:
- A FIMER PVS980-58 central inverter
- A FIMER bi-directional inverter, the PVS980-58BC, including grid-forming-ready technology
- A hybrid Medium Voltage Transformer
- Associated switchgear
Aaron Zadeh, FIMER Australia’s Utility-Scale Solar Manager, said of the solution: “We are extremely excited to have been part of this ground-breaking solution with Peel Renewable Energy, Avora Energy, Sunrise Energy Group, Jarrah Solutions and DevelopmentWA. FIMER custom designed a unique ‘hybrid inverter station’ for this project, that hosts both a solar inverter and battery converter on a single Medium Voltage station that should create a blueprint for future projects.”
Utilizing the hybrid station with both FIMER inverters enables the technology to share a portion of hardware that brings significant synergies over the system’s life, from a faster installation, higher reliability, and a rapid return on investment as well as long-term support and maintenance benefits.
As the industrial estate grows and more tenants move in, the flexibility of FIMER’s solution will enable Peel Renewable Energy to expand its renewable energy offering, using either ground or roof-top mounted solar arrays.
Rob Breden, WA General Manager of Peel Renewable Energy, spoke highly of FIMER’s offering and mentioned that, “FIMER’s technical solution, quality product offering, local support and deep product knowledge stood out from the start. Since commissioning, we have been impressed with FIMER’s after sales support and the capability of the installed solar and battery solution”.