Ingenero solar in bushfire safety trial
7th January 2011
Ingenero has become a part of a Victorian Government initiative designed to prevent further bushfire tragedies following the catastrophic fires of February 2009.
After investigations concluded that some of the blazes were caused by the electricity network, the Victorian Government set up the Powerline Bushfire Safety Taskforce, through Energy Safe Victoria.
The taskforce has come up with a range of ideas to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, including a groundbreaking trial with Ingenero.
At the end of 2010 Ingenero teamed up with battery storage specialists RedFlow to develop technology to provide a robust 'remote area power supply', allowing households to end their reliance on the electricity grid.
According to Ingenero CEO Steve McRae, "Not only is the program groundbreaking in terms of improving bushfire safety, its success will result in environmental benefits, with households producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions by generating their own power. It's also going to save people money."
“This project requires the integration of solar, storage and diesel generation which is a complex task that requires a specialised skill set. Over many years working on both small scale initiatives such as this one and larger remote grid projects, Ingenero has developed an ability to combine these three elements,” said Mr McRae.
The unique technology consists of Ingenero’s state-of-the-art solar panels, a large battery set (20kWh) with two batteries and a back-up diesel generator (7kVA).
The 'remote area power supply' delivers approximately 5,000 watts continuously and over 8,400 watts for short periods of time without the generator. The generator turns on automatically when needed so the system can provide over 10,000 watts.
The trial, which began in December 2010 and involves ten households in Daylesford and Euroa, will continue over the summer months, wrapping up in March 2011.
The trial will demonstrate that rural homes can successfully function on solar energy with the right combination of back-up technology.
