ENCIRCLE PINE RIVERS NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE
In early 2021, Springers Solar partnered with the Moreton Bay local council to donate a 16.64kW solar system to our local neighbourhood centre, Encircle Pine Rivers.
Encircle Pine Rivers is a non-profit organisation that supports the community with services, activities and information to assist with homelessness, education, emergency relief, and social development.
The donated solar system was originally installed on our Lawnton Headquarters roof before we required an upgrade due to expansions. The system, producing 27.5MWh of solar energy every year, was still in excellent condition. To avoid a perfectly capable system heading to landfill we partnered with our local council to transfer and donate the system to Encircle.
65 x 260W SolarEdge panels and a 27.6kW SolarEdge inverter were carefully transferred to Encircle’s premises and installed by our in-house solar installers and electricians. Within a day, Encircle began powering its premise with solar energy. With operating hours between 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Monday to Friday, solar was the perfect addition to their building to reduce operating costs and become more environmentally friendly.
Encircle has some large gum trees surrounding the property which creates some shading across the rooftop. The SolarEdge system was the perfect candidate for a shady rooftop, as the in-built optimisers on the back of each panel ensure that each panel operates independently. If one panel is shaded, the remainder of the panels won’t be affected and the unshaded panels will continue to produce solar energy for the site to use.
SolarEdge’s microinverter system was the perfect solution to ensure Encircle still generated a high solar energy yield, maximising the savings on their energy bill.
Since the installation, Encircle has consistently saved 30% off their monthly power bills and has also saved around 22 tonnes of CO2 emissions from being released into the atmosphere (which is equivalent to having planted over 1,000 trees!). The savings on their electricity costs allows the organisation to reinvest back into the community programs and services it offers.
Therefore, this solar system not only serves Encircle but serves the broader community, which is fantastic!