A bank of 14 batteries will be installed at Lake Haven Shopping Centre to store excess solar energy generated from the rooftop solar system.
In 2019 about 5,000 solar panels were installed across the entire roof of the centre which if laid end-to-end equals about 10kms, the distance from Lake Haven to Norah Head lighthouse, and with capacity to generate up to two megawatts of power.
Installation of the battery energy storage system forms an integral component of the shopping centre’s solar energy system and means it can draw less energy from the grid and consequently reduce demand on the electricity network.
It will store excess electricity from the rooftop solar panels for later use to meet the power needs only of the shopping centre and no electricity will be fed back into the grid.
It’s an investment of about $2.2M – and apart from the 14 battery racks there also will be 20 inverters and two control panels, all located in a secluded loading bay at the rear of the centre on the Lake Haven Oval side, where the equipment won’t be visible from public vantage points or cause any noise intrusion.
Sue Murray