The Byron Bay Services Club has installed a 99.8kW rooftop solar system – believed to be the biggest in the local shire – as the first step in a program to reshape its energy profile, and will consider battery storage and electric vehicle charge points.
The installation by Byron installer Juno Energy, including 312 LG320 modules and SolarEdge Inverters and power optimisers was completed in time to be switched on for the Christmas season.
Club manager David Green says there were a number of motivators for having a system installed, and reducing power bills was a central one. But there was also the wish to demonstrate environmental leadership in the community.
Green says the club is also looking at options in the New Year that could include other hardware, including EV charging points and possibly battery storage. Batteries, he notes, are coming down in cost and increasingly and could help reduce demand charges, as well as providing back-up in the case of blackouts and smoothing out solar production.
Juno’s Patrick Halliday said the installation had a “few challenges” in the layout because of the multiple roof planes.
“We use SolarEdge for almost all of our work now due to its flexibility, SolarEdge allows us to work around obstacles and get the most out of each panel.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of One Step Off The Grid, and also edits and founded Renew Economy and The Driven. He has been a journalist for 35 years and is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review.
