Sunworks completed the installations at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey, Channel Islands. Image: Sunworks/SolarEdge.
SolarEdge Technologies has announced the installation of a 75kWp, 242-module DC-optimised solar array at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey, Channel Islands.
The installation is split across two buildings, with 80 solar PV panels installed on the charity shop and 162 on the training centre at the site.
Together, these are helping to power Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust’s charity shop, training academy, hostel, farm buildings and nursery operations, helping to reduce the sites environmental footprint.
“By installing the solar system at the same time as the charity shop was constructed, we were presented with a rare blank canvas,” said Ben Spencer-Newman, solar surveyor at Sunworks, the Jersey-based solar installer responsible for the installation.
“The building is ideal for solar placement with a uniform pitched roof and no shading from local structures. Understanding how busy the zoo site is, and how important the charity shop would be in helping to raise funds for conservation work, we recommended REC panels with SolarEdge infrastructure as the best solution for higher safety, quick return-on-investment and ease of monitoring.”
SolarEdge’s inverters include the company’s SafeDC technology, allowing the power optimisers on each module to drop the voltage of the entire array down to a touch-safe 1V if needed, as well as their Integrated arc fault protection system, which can detect and interrupt potential arc faults.
Additionally, the company’s Firefighter Gateway solution has been used for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust installation. This provides a single centralised control for the entire solar system, allowing both manual and automatic shutdown to safe voltages.
SolarEdge has been continuing to expand its offering in the UK, including unveiling a new smart energy management system to its residential portfolio and launching 100kW three phase inverter with synergy technology in 2021.
In January this year, it also acquired energy analytics and internet of things (IoT) company Hark Systems, to increase its asset management offering.