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Collie Solar Farm to power data centre/crypto mining

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An application has been made for a Collie solar farm to be built in the coal-mining town in Western Australia. Approval for a 20MW solar farm has been obtained and the power will be used to mine cryptocurrencies and power a data centre.

Collie Solar Farm – Approval

Collie Solar Farm
Collie Solar Farm (source: wikipedia)

According to RenewEconomy, the application was made by Hadouken Pty Ltd, which is a company run by Ben Tan (of Tesla Holdings and VivoPower fame). Last Tuesday the Joint Development Assessment Panel approved the project which will be built on rural property around 2km north of Collie. The farm will be located on 18 hectares at 323 Patstone Road, near the Western Power Collie sub-station – not far from the Muja Power Station.

The Collie solar farm will be used to run the algorithms which mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. This is a power-intensive exercise and we’ve already seen quite a lot of solar-powered mining rigs – but this seems to be the largest in Australia so far. 

The Collie Mail are reporting that five banks of fixed-tilt modules will create the 20MW, which will cost around $16m and may include energy storage either at launch or post project completion.

“Approval and implementation of the proposal will also be a positive contribution towards establishing a greater presence of the renewable energy sector within the Shire of Collie,” the approved application stated.

 “The proposal will assist the State in meeting growing energy demand (particularly with Synergy accelerating its closure of the Muja AB coal-fired power station) and will be a significant move towards a presence of the renewable energy sector in the district.”

 
If you’re interested in reading the notes of the meeting where they approved the farm please click here to access them. There is also an email in there which shows residents of Patstone Road complaining about the project and location, worried about the ‘eye sore’ (sic) and a seemingly impending ‘disastrous situation’ if the farm is approved. It’s great to see councils not bending to this sort of NIMBY pressure we hear about every time a solar project is approved. 

 

 

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SunYield by Stoddart Group – Rental Solar

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Brisbane-based Stoddart Group have announced Australia’s ‘first landlord and tenant friendly solar solution’ which they are naming SunYield. They’ll have solar systems + storage installed as default for any new homes built by the group – the systems will also be integrated with SunYield system which makes it simple for renters to benefit from the solar system as well as the owners. 

SunYield by Stoddart Group

Stoddart Group’s General Manager for Energy Systems Adam Taylor was quoted in a press release discussing how difficult it can be to find a balance where having solar installed is beneficial for tenants and landlords:

“Renters have long missed out on the benefits of solar power simply because it was too hard or complicated for landlords to justify the cost.”

“SunYield changes this by ensuring that solar on a new rental property is a good deal for the landlord, as well as the tenant” said Taylor.

“With SunYield, if the tenant chooses to use the solar panels, all solar and grid power is measured automatically via a smart switchboard and the tenant receives a single monthly power bill for all electricity consumed from both the solar and the grid. The process is completely automated, with the landlord then receiving a payment for all solar generated, whether it was used by the tenant or sent to the grid.

“With this technology, the landlord owns the solar system and can either sell the power to their tenant at a discount to the market rate or export it to the grid if the tenant chooses not to buy it.”

The SunYield package has a 6.5kW solar system with a Stoddart Smart Board (which replaces the standard meter box). It’s battery-ready and is being delivered in conjunction with Powershop and Reposit. It was launched in Queensland with leading investment builders Choice Homes, Brighton Homes, Fortitude Homes and MetInvest, who will all include the solar system as part of their new home builds.

This is a lot different to other types of rental solar schemes we’ve seen – having the solar + storage built in to the price of a new property means there’s no annoying paperwork or organisation required by either party, and there’s no requirement for the renter to use the solar system if they don’t want to. 

For example, last month we wrote about SunTenants – a scheme where the system is bought by the owner but subsidsed by renters (who, in turn, save money on electricity). There’s also ShineHub which offers ‘fixed rate, free access’ but they retain ownership of the panels/storage. 

We’re starting to see more and more different options to offer solar power to renters – great to see another option which simplifies the process and is a win for everyone! 

Stoddart Group plan to install 15,000 systems over the next three years. 

SunYield by Stoddart Group - General Manager for Energy Systems Adam Taylor
SunYield by Stoddart Group – General Manager for Energy Systems Adam Taylor (source: supplied)

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Bruny Island solar trial – ANU

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Bruny Island solar trial – the tiny island off Tasmania is the site of a new smart solar and battery trial which may be helping shape Australia’s energy future. The combination of solar and battery installations work in conjunction to remove Bruny Island’s traditional reliance on diesel generators. 

Bruny Island solar trial

Bruny Island solar trial
Bruny Island solar trial (source: wikipedia.org)

The trial was done with Australian National University’s battery storage and grid integration program who worked with 40 households (around 3.5% of the amount of homes on Bruny Island) on the island to create a ‘microcosm of a future Australian electricity grid’. This was done by using the Network Aware Coordination (NAC) platform. The NAC consists of a series of ‘smart’ algorithms which can decide how to manage solar+storage (i.e. when to feed back into the grid or charge the battery based on myriad factors such as weather, usage patterns, and what other households’ energy draw/storage is). 

The Bruny Island solar trial wasn’t about fully replacing the diesel generators, but more about supplementing their usage and minimising reliance on diesel during peak times such as summer or a heatwave. 

“In the same way that traffic lights coordinate the flow of cars and trucks on the road, the Network-Aware Coordination platform coordinates the flow of energy from residential solar and batteries to networks and markets to ensure the efficient and reliable operation of the electricity grid,” the ANU said.

Lachlan Blackhall from the ANU discussed the goals of the project:

“The trial of the NAC is about better understanding how to use solar and battery to make the grid more efficient,” Mr. Blackhall was quoted in the Canberra Times. “During Easter, Bruny Island actually required more power than could be supplied by the undersea cable to the island.

“Typically they would use diesel but this program – even with only 3.5 per cent of homes on the island participating – reduced diesel usage by 30 per cent.”

The great results bode well for the future in Australia and also for people wanting to create a microgrid – the software and learnings headed up by the NAC will help ensure the whole grid remains healthy, rather than the more ‘selfish’ policies which we’ve seen other systems use. Looking at the grid as a whole rather than a household means we have a lot more control to share power as evenly as possible and try to minimise reliance on diesel. 

Even though it was a small trial it could scale up quickly without too much effort so the good result of the trial is very heartening. It’ll be interesting to see which size ‘microgrid’ they try and integrate NAC to next! 

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Camberwell Grammar School Solar System

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The 862kW Camberwell Grammar School Solar System has been installed in Canterbury and all 2,607 solar panels are currently generating electricity for the largest solar project on any school in Australia. IT will generate 1GWh (1 million kWh’s) of clean energy every year. 

Camberwell Grammar School Solar System - Gippsland Solar
Camberwell Grammar School Solar System – Gippsland Solar (source: gippslandsolar.com.au)

The Camberwell Grammar School Solar System

The team at Gippsland Solar (comprising of 14 commercial installers who were put up in Melbourne for the duration of the project) set up the school solar system, which includes two ‘off-grid classrooms’, earlier this year. It’s been a technically challenging process that required 3D drone modelling, complicated electrical and structural engineering. The first 550kW was delivered over the Christmas school holidays and the remaining 312kW was completed at the end of term one, so as to minimise the amount of disruption to students.

According to the Gippsland Solar Facebook page, the system will generate just over half of the school’s usage and during the holidays they’ll export any excess power back to the grid.

System Details – Gippsland Solar

  • Solar panels – 2650 x Trina 350W frameless panels
  • Inverters – 34 x Fronius European inverters
  • System capacity – 862kW
  • Power production – Approx 1,000,000 kWh’s per year
  • Carbon savings – Approx 1,200 Tonnes per year
  • The school is now looking into installing a Tesla Powerpack battery to go with the solar system. 

Another huge step forwards for commercial solar as we see projects like this become financially feasible. What’s also great to note is that the project was entirely driven by the school student council, who presented the idea to the Camberwell board. 

If you want to learn more about the Camberwell Grammar School Solar System then click here to read a case study from the Gippsland Solar website or click the video below which shows off this beautiful feat of engineering. Kudos Gippsland Solar! 

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ShineHub offer ‘fixed rate, free access’ solar.

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A company named ShineHub has released a ‘fixed rate, free access’ contract Australia wide (except NT and Tasmania) where users can have solar+storage installed for free. The trial program will be for 1,000 contracts and will be expanded in the future. 

ShineHub’s fixed price solar service.

Shinehub Fixed Price Solar
Shinehub Fixed Price Solar (source: shinehub.com.au)

ShineHub’s contract means that they actually own the system and are responsible for the maintenance of it. The contracts run for 20 years and lock the customer into a 20 year contract to buy the electricity the system produces. According to the team the cost of an average system ShineHub will install is $15,000, so that’s quite a big saving if you’re not able to stump up for the system upfront.

“This is the first contract of its kind available to residential homes across Australia for a solar and battery package,” ShineHub co-founder Alex Georgiou told news.com.au in an interview.

“This provides a simple way to purchase (a system) and everything is taken care of. There are no additional fees, we’ve taken the uncertainty out,” Mr Georgiou said.

“It’s a very easy way for consumers to get what they want, without getting scared off by either the cost or the reliability.”

The program could be particularly good for landlords who don’t want to stump up the fairly sizeable upfront cost to install solar+storage but want to help their tenants enjoy the reduced electricity prices having solar panels can bring. We’ve written fairly extensively about the difficulty of installing solar power for renters – perhaps ideas like ShineHub could be a step in the right direction so they’re able to  enjoy some stability with regards to their electricity bill.

Some more information about the service:

  • Installation will be in July this year.
  • You can buy out the system at a discounted rate. If you want to sell your house it’s possible to transfer the ShineHub contract to a new owner.
  • You’ll remain connected to the grid and will have to pay the ongoing access fee for it.
  • They’ll use Bloomberg rated Tier 1 solar panels from Longi, Alpha ESS’s SMILE5 hybrid inverter and battery system.
  • ShineHub are partnered with 85 certified solar companies in Australia to help deliver their idea. 

If you’re interested in applying for one of the ShineHub systems, you can contact them for a consultation to see if you’re eligible. 

As per news.com.au, the average electricity rates and ShineHub prices are listed below.

NSW:

  • Highest price is: $0.39/kWh
  • Average rate is: $0.24/kWh
  • Price starts at: $0.18/kWh
  • Typical savings bracket: 20 per cent to 35 per cent.

VIC:

  • Highest price is: $0.34/kWh
  • Average rate is: $0.21/kWh
  • Price starts at: $0.18/kWh
  • Typical savings bracket: 14 per cent to 30 per cent.

SA:

  • Highest price is: $0.47/kWh
  • Average rate is: $0.35/kWh
  • Price starts at: $0.18/kWh
  • Typical savings bracket: 35 per cent to 50 per cent.

QLD:

  • Highest price is: $0.35/kWh
  • Average rate is: $0.22/kWh
  • Price starts at: $0.18/kWh
  • Typical savings bracket: 18 per cent to 30 per cent.

WA:

  • Highest price is: $0.26/kWh
  • Average rate is: $0.26/kWh
  • Price starts at: $0.18/kWh
  • Typical savings bracket: Around 30 per cent.

 

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