Off-Grid Regenerative Farm

Just north of the QLD/NSW border, in the heart of the Scenic Rim, lies a chemical-free farm powered by clean energy. Ayton Farm’s mission is simple - producing naturally-grown food that enhances consumer health, rather than undermining it. The owners are passionate about creating and maintaining a clear and healthier way of life. 

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Being passionate about sustainability, the owners of this regenerative farm were looking to capitalise on energy from the sun to power the property. In addition to this, our customer wanted to offset the cost of irrigation on the property. Having already had a solar system installed, our customer requested Springers Solar’s expertise to expand their solar generation capabilities. 

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Despite the clear objective, challenges arose from the onset of this installation, each requiring careful consideration and meticulous planning from our engineering team. The initial solar system design was a grid-connected hybrid system, which would connect the property back to the grid to ensure round-the-clock power. 

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However, after further investigation and discussion with the customer, it was determined that their energy goals and power loads far exceeded the system size restrictions enforced by Energy QLD. With this in mind, our team pivoted to a new system design, one that is completely removed from the grid and would provide the customer with complete energy independence. 

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The second challenge arose when it came to the location of the system. This property already had a 30kW solar array mounted on a tracking tilt system which adjusts the tilt of the panels to track the sunlight. Wanting to provide our customer with a holistic solution, our team incorporated the existing panels into the design. This choice meant that the additional panels and connected componentry would need to be located near the tracking tilt, which would place them in a paddock in the lower corner of the property.

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The paddock being quite a distance from the home on this property presented a challenge for the design team, who needed to develop a solution that would protect the components from the elements. 

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In addition to this, the paddock where the system was proposed to be installed is a floodplain.

Only a few years ago, in Queensland’s notorious ‘wet season’, this particular paddock was submerged in 3-4 feet of flood water. 

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Our in-house RPEQ engineers took these challenges in stride and designed a holistic system that is a first for the Springers Solar team - an off-grid system encased in a shipping container, lofted on a metal frame and accompanied by a custom-engineered ground-mounted solar array.

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The 40.48kW ground-mounted solar array is made up of 92 x Trina Solar Vertex S+ 440W Solar modules. Because of the location, the ground-mounted panels were designed to sit above the flood level from the most recent storm season. This was achieved by collaborating with Clenergy, the solar racking manufacturer, to ensure we could design a mounting system that would effectively elevate the panels while still maximising the direct sunlight the panels would receive. 

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The components for this system were installed in a converted shipping container, which was later installed on an elevated platform to ensure it was also protected from floods. Inside the container, plasterboard was installed to create structural walls for the inverters to be mounted to. 

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3 x 7.5kW Selectronic Inverter Chargers, chosen for their reliable power conversion, were paired with 3 x Fronius 15kW GEN24 Symo Selectronic-Certified Inverters. This enhanced setup operates on an AC-coupled configuration, allowing to efficiently handle substantial AC loads throughout the day.

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In addition to the AC-coupled components, this system also includes a Victron SmartSolar RS 450/200 Solar Charge Controller, which is DC-coupled to ensure the large battery stack maintains maximum energy storage for the customer.

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The system is completed by 36 x PowerPlus 4kWh ECO4840P battery modules. These modules are contained in two PowerPlus PIR20C Battery Cabinets, and offer our customer a total of 144kWh of battery capacity for the property. 

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One possible complication presented to our engineering team was the load draw of the irrigation pump on the property. This 30kW pump draws a significant amount of energy when it ramps up and down throughout the day. 

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To overcome this and make the day-to-day more simple for our customer, our electrical engineer designed a connection that would automate the irrigation pump’s ability to draw energy. This system is based on the solar energy generated by the panels, meaning that a certain amount of solar energy has to be generated before the irrigation system can begin to draw energy. This also ensures that the irrigation pump doesn’t over-draw the solar system and completely drain the batteries. 

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Since the installation, this system has saved a total of 18,376kg of CO2 emissions, reducing the carbon footprint of the farm. The complete system can now keep this regenerative farm running completely from self-generated energy.