Commercial Case Studies
“In 2003 the biggest monthly power bill at Tarewa Mega Centre was around $4,000 - in 2014 it was more than $13,000.” Dan Udy - Director Udy Group, owners of Tarewa Mega Centre.
Tarewa Mega Centre is located in Whangarei, Northland, an area where the per/kWh energy costs are among the highest in New Zealand. These rates, and their relentless increase, motivated Dan and Jon Udy, directors of the Udy Group, to look for an alternative. Commercial solar power very quickly became the obvious choice.
For Tarewa Mega Centre the highest power demand is over the summer months, when air conditioning demand for the centre peaks. This is a perfect match for solar PV electricity generation as peak output from a system is over summer when the sun shines the most. To maximise the investment return, PowerSmart engineers designed a system to supply 70-80% of the centre's daytime baseload energy needs. This means that very little electricity is exported back to the national grid, as most is used internally at the centre.
The owners of the Mega Centre see the installation as a long-term investment in an area where energy rates are among the highest in the country. They also see it as a way to provide a financial benefit to the Tarewa Mega Centre tenants by fixing the amount they pay for the solar portion of their power bill. So, if power bills triple in Northland over the next 15 years, as they have since 2003, tenants will be making some significant savings as the solar portion of their power bill won't increase. This is a win for both the tenants and also for Udy Group, who will benefit from longer-term tenants and fewer vacant buildings.
The Tarewa Mega Centre commercial solar installation won the 'Largest Grid Tied Implementation' at the 2014 SEANZ awards.
“We have never had a project go so smoothly, they finished about 2 weeks before they were scheduled to finish” Dan Udy
Tarewa Mega Centre - 240kW
Label Title: Commercial Savings Through Solar
Type: Grid Tied Commercial
Location: Whangarei
Specs: 240kW
Est. Energy Production: 288,000 kWh per year
