Solar flowing into homes
Crew members Zac Soutar, left, and Feliche Zaccari after another day of battling in muddy conditions at Ranui Solar Farm. Photo: Supplied.
The recent installation of three 14 tonne inverters at Ranui Solar Farm marked a significant milestone for the project, with much of the major work now completed.
The inverters, which are 6.5 metres long and 2.2 metres wide, convert the DC current from the solar panels into AC current which will feed into the Marlborough Lines 33 kV (33,000 volt) network. Their installation required some planning as the wet winter made the ground muddy and soft.
Several local companies were involved in the installation: Eckford Enginering (frames for the inverters) Hydralift Crane Hire, Harvest Haulage Ltd (trucks and diggers) and MacKenzie Contracting Ltd (gravel spread). Marlborough Lines lifted the 11 kV lines to allow the cranes to operate safely.
Installation of the solar panels was completed by the end of May, and trenches were dug and a trunk cable installed before the wet weather but about 100 kilometres of cable were installed in wet, muddy conditions.
The next stage of the project will be connecting and testing the DC cables and, installing and testing the 33 kV equipment required to connect to the 33 kV Marlborough Lines network.
The locally owned Ranui Solar Farm has the capacity to generate up to 12.6 MW of clean, renewable energy – enough electricity for 5000 homes.