Commercial Case Studies
In February 2014 PowerSmart installed and commissioned a 100kW solar PV farm on the rooftop of Palmerston North City Council’s Central Administration Building and the city’s Convention Centre - the largest solar PV system in New Zealand.
400 solar PV panels were installed on the roof of the Council’s depot at Manawaroa Street. This project alongside many others - including an LED street light trial and free tertiary student bus travel - demonstrate Palmerston North’s commitment to creating a sustainable future.
Energy officer John Debney says the solar farm will go some way towards meeting the Council’s electricity needs and most of the electricity generated will be used on site, reducing the amount imported from the grid. The CAB building uses approximately 1,100,000kWh of electricity per year, at a cost in 2013 of $173,000 - the solar farm will reduce this import by about 10%.
There should also be a reduction in electricity demand charges as Council will be using less electricity from the network during times of peak demand. "However", says John Debney, "we won’t know the total savings until this time next year because the demand charges for electricity stay on the bill for one year."
He believes the solar farm project is very exciting. “We’re fairly confident of how successful it will be given our experience with the solar electricity system at Council’s Esplanade Depot at Manawaroa St.”
That site has used 4,550kWh from the grid since March this year, and in that time exported 3,270kWh back to the grid. This represents about 72% of the electricity imported to site being sent back to the grid. During the day the complex is using electricity generated on site by the solar panels resulting in further savings. “That project was designed to be able to generate as much electricity as it uses and we appear to have achieved this goal.”
PNCC Solar Farm - 100kW
Label Title: Solar Farm in Manawatu - 100kW
Type: Grid Tied
Location: Palmerston North
Specs: 100kW
Est. Energy Production: 120,000kWh/year
