Commodore Australia was contacted by Keppel Prince Engineering in Portland to help finalise the design and also build a containerised Off grid solar power system to provide energy to the World Heritage site in South West Victoria.

Commodore built into a 40Ft shipping container a fully pre wired system ready for deployment on site. We have provided AC power through a 45kVA Victron Energy Battery Inverter system (using 3x 15kVA Victron Quattro Inverter Chargers set in 3 phase) paired with a Delta 30kW PV Inverter for a total of 75kVA potential output power. For energy storage a 138kWh BYD Lithium battery bank is installed (using reliable LiFePO4 chemistry), also being expandable should the building energy requirements change into the future.

A 91.5kW Solar PV array was groucnd mounted at the site for energy harvest, using 208x Longi 440w Mono Crystalline solar panels. From there, the 91.5kW PV array was managed by 9x Victron Energy SmartSolar 250|100 MPPT Solar Charge Controllers and also the AC Coupled Delta 30kW PV Inverter. The Octo GX from Victron Energy manages the inverters and power conversion equipment to adhere to the battery charge and discharge limits as set by the BYD Battery Management System, and to prioritise energy from the 9x MPPT solar chargers and the Delta PV Inverter. Energy is supplied to the loads as priority, with all surplus PV power being used to recharge the batteries. During times of excess solar, the Delta and MPPT’s are regulated to supply only as much energy as required .

PROJECT OBJECTIVE

This system was designed for the sole purpose to run the entire site directly from the solar PV and battery storage, powering an A grade museum space and an admin centre for the Gunditj Mirring elders corporation. The museum space and off grid system is well worth seeing. Below are our positive project outcomes:

PROJECT OUTCOMES
Looking at the Budj-Bim Cultural Landscape micro-grid in isolation, there are numerous positive outcomes:
⦁ Given that KPS was also talking to other customers in the area about MW scale ground projects and has no established sub-contractors in SW Victoria with experience installing ground arrays, it was an easy step to sit down with executive of GMTOAC and agree to use the Budj-bim project to train a works team of their community members as ground array solar installers. The project was delivered on time and on budget.
⦁ The project has delivered significant financial outcomes;
⦁ A 3 phase supply to the museum at a similar price to that required to extend 3 phase power to SWER lines servicing the area.
⦁ A saving of ~$20,000 a year in energy charges, helping to cement the future financial viability of the museum,;
⦁ The project has delivered environmental outcomes
⦁ It’ll generate around 80 MWh of 100% renewable energy each year.
⦁ It’ll remove ~100 tonnes of Carbon annually from the atmosphere;
⦁ The project has delivered Cultural outcomes;
⦁ It provides the energy needed to conserve the Gunditjmara’s historic artifacts “Back on Country” where they belong.
And finally, this generation of Aboriginal Elders believes that it supplies power to the buildings in a manner that their ancestors would completely agree with.
A footnote… Nothing happens in isolation. There were wider outcomes of our engagement with GMTOAC – An extensive PV program across First Nations community in 2019/20 that included:
⦁ Installation of a 20kW PV system on the Windamara Aboriginal Corporation’s offices in Heywood;
⦁ With support from Solar Victoria’s Solar Homes Program, installation of 31 domestic solar systems – 100% of the Windamara housing stock;
⦁ Installation of a 30kW PV array onto the Dhurrard Wurrong Elders Corporation Health Clinic.

Testimonial from KPE Manager:

“ KPE has been co-operating with Commodore Energy for off-grid solar system projects since 2017. Whilst this project was a quantum leap in size and complexity, we had complete faith that Commodore would work with us to deliver a system that provides the Keeping Place museum with the reliable power supply they need to justify the return of Gunditjmara artifacts back from museums across Australia onto Country where they belong“