RACV’s major push into the Australian rooftop solar market continues to gain momentum this week with the announcement of a new partnership with US microinverter maker Enphase Energy.
The deal will see Enphase supply RACV Solar with its smart inverters in a bid, the company says, to boost the quality and flexibility of its residential and commercial solar offerings.
RACV last year acquired one of Victoria’s biggest and most well respected solar retailers, Gippsland Solar, in a significant pivot towards solar energy for the insurer which started out in 1903 as a Victorian motoring and mutual organisation that offered (and still does) roadside assistance.
As reported on One Step Off The Grid at the time, the deal followed the unveiling of RACV’s plan to transition to 100% renewables for all its clubs, resorts and office buildings, through a mix of on-site solar and an off-take deal with the retail arm of Snowy Hydro, Red Energy.
Under that five-year deal, which will kick off on January 01 2020, RACV will purchase 21GWh of renewable electricity a year – enough to power 3,500 average homes.
On the self-generation front, the organisation has been working through a major commercial solar rollout in partnership with the aforementioned Gippsland Solar, including a rather impressive 510kW PV system at the RACV Torquay Resort, on Victoria’s west coast.
RACV Solar and its commercial arm Gippsland Solar said this week that they had chosen to use Enphase’s IQ 7 and IQ 7+ inverters.
RACV Solar CEO – and founder and CEO of Gippsland Solar – Andy McCarthy said the smart inverters would help meet the demands of Australian customers for safety, flexibility and quality of their solar systems.
“RACV Solar and Gippsland Solar are thrilled to join forces with Enphase to deliver safe, smart, and highly-efficient microinverter solutions for our clients,” said McCarthy.
“After a recent tour of the Enphase facility in Fremont, California, it was clear that to cater to the Australian consumer’s ever-increasing demands for solar safety, flexibility, and quality, Enphase technology is the perfect fit for our product range.”
Enphase’s microinverters have a 10-year warranty in the Australian market, which can be extended for a fee.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
