Provider Farming – 165 KVA Grid Tied Solar System

Client: Provider Farming
Project Type: 165 KVA Grid Tied solar system
Location: Villiersdorp, Western Cape

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

• To meet the maximum demand that the factory requires to function efficiently

Provider Farming is a family farm situated in the picturesque Theewaterskloof district. The Farm specialises in apple and pear production and produces numerous varieties on 80 hectares of land in Villiersdorp Valley.

The Farm recently went through a major upgrade to pack and box apples and pears for the local and international markets. The task was to build a pack house that included cold rooms, fruit sizers and a boxing plant to produce and ship the produce straight from the Farm. Excluding the middleman would save them on costs and time, however the additional add-ons for the packhouse required more power. An additional 150 KWs of power from the Utility was required to run the Plant effectively, but that was not possible. The farm was already running on the maximum demand the Utility company had given and could not put more strain on the local grid Network. A request was made to upgrade the Transformer on the farm but was declined by Eskom as the cable from the substation was also on the maximum demand and could not be upgraded due to costs.

New-Tech Power was contacted by Provider Farm as a consulting agent to come up with a solution that could accommodate the new packhouse power needs, without putting extra strain on the transformer and also to avoid scheduled and unscheduled standstills that could cost the company in downtime.

SITE ANALYSIS

• Various site visits took place to do energy audits
• We worked hand in hand with the structural engineer to factor in wind loading and total weight of panels for installation on the roof
• Geographical considerations – Multiple Inverters were installed in order to make use of several charge controllers allowing for the panels to be installed in various orientations.
• Shading analysis and potential obstructions – None

SYSTEM DESIGN

Our solution was to use 145KVA of Inverters with 170kwp Solar panels and a 300KVA Generator. All these alternative powers form a Micro Grid and would be controlled by a main Micro grid controller that communicates with the Inverters’ Power Manager and with the Generator’s deep see controller we opted for. The Generator, Solar System and Utility all worked synchronously to prioritise the most economical output delivered to the packhouse. By operating a stand-by genset control system that monitors the incoming mains (utility) supply in the event of a power failure, the genset will automatically start and provide enough power to keep the plant operational. The system operates a no-break automatic return to mains once it returns to within the required parameters, reducing the number of standstills.

The micro grid is remotely monitored and can be managed from off site. Annual yields and graphs show the efficiency of the system and will alert the user if production from the solar panels is low or faulty or needs cleaning, ensuring the predicted return on investment trend is maintained.

Major Components:

• 3 x Huawei 65KVA 3-phase Grid Tied Inverters
• 520 x Renewsys 330W Solar panels
• K2 Multi rail mountings on IBR roof
• 300kVA Three Phase Silent Diesel Generator
• Microgrid Control System (made per specification)
• Deep sea 8620 controller

TIMELINE AND MILESTONES

• Planning started in April 2018 and the project was commissioned in February 2019

CONCLUSION

• New-Tech Power co-developed a micro grid controller for this project so that Utility, Generator and PV can work together to match their peak demand.
• We were one of the first to do a successful SSEG with Eskom in the area.
• Client can now successfully continue production with limited input from the Utility supply, therefore drastically reducing their consumption.