Solar power system meets 50% of facility's electricity requirements

Australia’s largest grid-connected solar power system with Enphase microinverters has been installed at the Glenlyn Aged Care Facility in Glenroy, Victoria. The project was carried out by EnviroGroup in conjunction with Yingli Solar.

This 100 kW installation is expected to generate over 392 kWh of solar energy daily - approximately 50% of Glenlyn’s electricity requirements - to power the centre’s operational and cooling facilities, particularly in periods of peak daytime demand.

EnviroGroup has installed 399 Yingli Solar high-efficiency multicrystalline panels with Enphase microinverters attached to each individual panel. The microinverters communicate over existing power lines with the Envoy Communications Gateway, which reports production data to the Enphase Enlighten software platform. Enlighten closely monitors the performance of the entire solar system to ensure it is operating at maximum efficiency. This is an added measure designed to protect the facility’s investment in solar PV.

The Glenlyn Aged Care Facility with the 100 kW solar installation.

This installation was designed and configured by EnviroGroup in close consultation with Enphase to meet the highly regulated requirements imposed on aged care facilities. By pairing Enphase microinverters with Yingli Solar PV panels, EnviroGroup expects Glenlyn to achieve annual energy production of 124.5 MW and to reduce its annual carbon emissions by 163 tonnes a year.

“Glenlyn Aged Care Facility approached us with very specific requirements as they needed a solar system that could fit within the design of their rooftop, which has limited internal space to locate solar inverters. Having residents in care, we had to complete the installation of the project within a very tight time frame and without any interruptions to their power supply,” said Cameron Munro, CEO of EnviroGroup.

“EnviroGroup was confident in recommending Yingli Solar and Enphase as these companies have a proven track record in providing quality products and maximising yield efficiency. I am confident this solution will offer Glenlyn a significant return on investment right from the start,” Munro added.

“With increasing electricity bills, solar power is a sensible alternative as it will help us to manage our operating costs and reduce Glenlyn’s impact on the environment. EnviroGroup took the time to understand our needs and delivered a solution that we believe will meet or exceed our expectations,” said Nicole Sandhaus, manager of Glenlyn Aged Care.

The Glenlyn Aged Care Facility project was developed by EnviroGroup’s in-house engineering team, who were responsible for completing the system design, electrical design, grid connection and phase balancing.