{"id":72978,"date":"2023-03-29T07:52:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T21:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=72978"},"modified":"2023-03-29T07:52:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T21:22:35","slug":"arkaroola-microgrid-project-mb2879","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arkaroola-microgrid-project-mb2879\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Innovations: Look Ma, No Rails!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-72979\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rail-less-solar-mounting.jpg\" alt=\"Rail-less solar mounting\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rail-less-solar-mounting.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rail-less-solar-mounting-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rail-less-solar-mounting-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rail-less-solar-mounting-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>An ambitious microgrid project in South Australia is chock-full of interesting features. One of them is a rooftop solar panel mounting system that doesn&#8217;t use rails.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Located 600 kilometres north of Adelaide in the northern Flinders Ranges, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arkaroola.com.au\/\">Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary<\/a> was founded by the Sprigg family in 1968. Formerly a degraded sheep station, the 610sq km sanctuary is a haven for a wide variety of fauna and flora.<\/p>\n<p>As well as its many natural attractions, Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary has accommodation, a restaurant and bar, shop, swimming pool and a service station.<\/p>\n<p>Up until very recently, power for the sanctuary&#8217;s facilities has been provided exclusively by diesel gensets. But under the Australian Government&#8217;s Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund \u2013 Microgrids 2020-2021, funding was provided to trial and implement innovative renewable energy solutions. The trial has been led by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installer-review\/apex-energy-australia\/\">Apex Energy Solutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Phase 1 of the microgrid project includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>100kW of rooftop solar (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/axitec-review.html\">Axitec solar panels<\/a>) on the Mawson Lodge and workshop buildings ( expandable to 400kW).<\/li>\n<li>121kWh CEGASA lithium-ion battery storage system ( expandable to 363kWh).<\/li>\n<li>60kW continuous 3-phase battery Inverter\/Charger (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/inverters\/selectronic-review.html\">Selectronic<\/a> &#8211; expandable to 180kW).<\/li>\n<li>Integration with the existing diesel generator system.<\/li>\n<li>A new main switchboard and underground cabling to major solar locations.<\/li>\n<li>A 22kW 3-phase public electric vehicle charging station.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"youtube-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Outback Solar: Arkaroola Renewable Microgrid\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o-uMy-jthn4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>There&#8217;s a really detailed write-up on the project from Apex Energy&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/solar-battery-microgrid-iconic-remote-australian-sean-lepoidevin\/\">Sean LePoidevin here<\/a>. Mr. LePoidevin is also the Regional Manager Australia and Pacific for Germany&#8217;s BOS Balance of Storage Systems AG.<\/p>\n<h2>Rail-Less Rooftop Solar<\/h2>\n<p>As you can imagine, there was a lot of gear that needed to be transported to the site, and over some less-than-ideal roads. Given the remoteness of the Sanctuary, a lot of thought also needed to be given to components as any failure could take quite a while to repair. This included the mounting system.<\/p>\n<p>Usually solar mounting systems involve rails, on top of which the solar panels are fixed. For the Arkaroola project, S-5!\u2019s<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arkaroola-microgrid-project-mb2879\/#en-72978-1' id='enref-72978-1' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(72978)'>1<\/a><\/sup> rail-less solution was used. Rail-less solar mounting isn&#8217;t new, but as far as I know isn&#8217;t commonly used in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to significantly reducing the cost and complexity of transporting materials, S-5! claims their solution:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cut installation costs by 25% through eliminating the assembly and installation associated with conventional racking.<\/li>\n<li>Reduced dead load of mounting components by 750kg, placing less stress on the aging sub-structure.<\/li>\n<li>Increased system size by 7.3%, allowing freedom to install panels anywhere on the roof sheet.<\/li>\n<li>Completed solar installation approximately 37% faster than a conventional based rail-based mounting system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;If you look at all the racking manufacturers out there, you still have one core problem &#8211; is that you&#8217;re a slave to a fixing point and a screw line,&#8221; says S-5! Product Trainer Bernie Dombroski. &#8220;You know, you really have to add more product and more weight into the roof. Where S-5! turns your roof into a canvas. You have no idea how liberating that is.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.s-5.com\/\">S-5!<\/a> says its system has been used for more than 2 million installations around the world, supporting 5.8 + GW of solar panels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An ambitious microgrid project in South Australia is chock-full of interesting features. One of them is a rooftop solar panel mounting system that doesn&#8217;t use rails.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":72979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-battery-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Solar Innovations: Look Ma, No Rails!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This microgrid project in South Australia has many interesting features, including a solar panel mounting system that doesn&#039;t use rails.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arkaroola-microgrid-project-mb2879\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Solar Innovations: Look Ma, No Rails!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This microgrid project in South Australia has many interesting features, including a solar panel mounting system that doesn&#039;t use rails.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arkaroola-microgrid-project-mb2879\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-28T21:22:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rail-less-solar-mounting.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bloch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arkaroola-microgrid-project-mb2879\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arkaroola-microgrid-project-mb2879\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\"},\"headline\":\"Solar Innovations: Look Ma, No Rails!\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-28T21:22:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arkaroola-microgrid-project-mb2879\/\"},\"wordCount\":528,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/arkaroola-microgrid-project-mb2879\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/rail-less-solar-mounting.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Solar &amp; 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(TVW) is a non-profit organisation establishing an \"off the grid\" tiny house community utilising sustainable living and design practices in Wallan, 45 kilometres north of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Transition Village Wallan - solar power","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/transition-village-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/transition-village-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/transition-village-solar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/transition-village-solar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/transition-village-solar.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35395,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/licola-off-grid-solar-mb1315\/","url_meta":{"origin":72978,"position":1},"title":"The Victorian Town Running (Mostly) On Off-Grid Solar Power","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"December 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The tiny town of Licola has switched from a reliance on dirty diesel power to clean solar energy for the majority of its electricity needs. 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While Licola only had a population of 11 at the last\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Licola - Off Grid Solar Power","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/licola-solar-power-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/licola-solar-power-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/licola-solar-power-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/licola-solar-power-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/licola-solar-power-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58811,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/hunter-solar-ppa-mb2353\/","url_meta":{"origin":72978,"position":2},"title":"Six Hunter Councils Sign Up For More Solar Power","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"February 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A collective of six councils in NSW's Hunter region have inked a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement with Mojo Power. The Councils involved are: Lake Macquarie City Upper Hunter Shire Maitland City Cessnock City Muswellbrook Shire Central Coast Commenting on the arrangement, Central Coast Council's Natalia Cowley said by banding together\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mojo solar power purchase agreement","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mojo-hunter-ppa.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mojo-hunter-ppa.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mojo-hunter-ppa.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mojo-hunter-ppa.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mojo-hunter-ppa.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":97468,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/clean-up-your-solar-before-a-bushfire-does-it-for-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":72978,"position":3},"title":"Clean Up Your Solar Before A Bushfire Does It For You","author":"Anthony Bennett","date":"January 30, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"With record-breaking heat and bushfires sweeping the country, times like these serve as a sobering reminder of why we need more solar - and also as a reminder that those of us living in at-risk areas ought to prepare and maintain our rooftop PV arrays appropriately. I recently heard a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Panels&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/dc-conduit-over-rail-under-panel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/dc-conduit-over-rail-under-panel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/dc-conduit-over-rail-under-panel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/dc-conduit-over-rail-under-panel.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24232,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-solar-sunlight-rights-mb0742\/","url_meta":{"origin":72978,"position":4},"title":"Victorian Solar Owners&#8217; Right To Sunlight Protected","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"September 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Solar power systems will be protected from overshadowing by new neighbouring developments under planning provisions in Victoria that will take effect from late this month. Amendments to the Victoria Planning Provisions and all planning schemes means the potential of overshadowing of existing home solar hot water and solar power systems\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar panels and the right to sunlight","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/solar-panels-sunlight.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/solar-panels-sunlight.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/solar-panels-sunlight.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/solar-panels-sunlight.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":78017,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/getting-solar-right-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":72978,"position":5},"title":"Why Builders Get Solar Wrong And How You Can Get It Right","author":"Anthony Bennett","date":"September 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In this series, I'm pitching a case for better buildings that can make housing more comfortable and more affordable to live in. A month ago, I explained how Australian houses are badly built, often with outrageously complicated roof lines. Read on as I explore how to get solar panels on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Energy Efficiency&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Energy Efficiency","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/energy-efficiency\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Getting solar power right when building a house.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/greg-walls-header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/greg-walls-header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/greg-walls-header.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/greg-walls-header.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/greg-walls-header.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72978"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72983,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72978\/revisions\/72983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}