Covino Farms is one of the largest growers of lettuce, carrots and other vegetables nationally from over 3,500 acres of farmland in East Gippsland. Covino Farms were looking to reduce their electricity bills with a cost effective solution that would maximise their return on investment.
After looking at Cherry’s credentials, solutions and understanding that they were backed by EnergyAustralia, Covino Farms chose Cherry for a 783.9kW solar PV system.
Getting appropriate insurance coverage proved difficult due to the fire risk of the site. Existing skylights minimised available roof space and after a detailed site inspection, the recommended system size had to be reduced. The return on investment was a large deciding factor and the new system needed to be extremely financially viable.
Cherry worked closely with Covino Farms to provide reassurances around auto DC shutdown procedures, installed manual fire shutdown switches and optimisers that drop solar panels to a safe DC voltage, minimising fire risks and providing Covino Farms with fire insurance coverage. Skylights were replaced with normal roof sheeting to expand roof space and the system size. Cherry installed a Power Factor unit to maximise savings and applied for various State Government incentives to significantly reduce upfront cost.
Covino Farms is now home to a 783.9kW solar PV system comprising of 1742 x 450W Risen panels, 8 x 82.8kW SolarEdge inverters, 871 x P950 SolarEdge optimisers, commercial grade Sunlock racking, a SolarEdge energy meter and 450kVA PFC unit. They will save an estimated $189,439 and significantly reduce their carbon emissions, helping to mitigate climate change which affects agricultural businesses, all over the world.
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