Highlights
- 6kW of Solar Photovoltaics Grid Tied with Battery Backup
- One of the first installation of Magnum micro-inverters in Canada;
- One of the first battery back-up systems using a Magnum PAE and 6.65kWh Discover AES Li-Ion Battery;
This summer, Viridian Energy Co-operative installed twenty-four solar panels at the Sheringham Point Heritage Lighthouse in Shirley, BC. The solar system comprises a 6 kilo-Watt (kW) solar array and a 6.65 kilo-Watt-hour (kWh) back-up battery. That’s a bit of a mouth-full! So what does it all mean?
The solar panels can generate up to 6 kW of power during bright sunny weather. Thus, over a five hour sunny spell, 30 kWh of electrical energy is generated. And 30 kWh is the daily electricity usage of an average home in British Columbia. As the energy consumption of the lighthouse itself is low, the surplus energy produced by the lighthouse solar panels helps to power the Shirley community.
Although the lighthouse itself consumes little energy, there is some important equipment on-site to monitor the weather, listen to the whales and perform other important functions. To support the continuity of this important data during power outages, the Sheringham Point Lighthouse Preservation Society (SPLPS) decided to have Viridian install a 6.65 kWh Lithium Ion back-up battery designed by Discover Battery of Richmond, BC. This is an intelligent Lithium-Ion battery – like the Tesla power wall – though in our opinion more robust.
The lighthouse, once a beacon for sea-going navigators and lighting their way to safety, can now do the same for renewable energy and community resilience, lighting Shirley into the future.
You can learn more about the Sheringham Point Lighthouse here. (http://sheringhamlighthouse.org/)
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