Solar award winners power past competitors

The winners of the 2015 Clean Energy Council Solar Design and Installation Awards were announced at the ATRAA solar industry dinner on 8 October, following the All-Energy Australia conference in Melbourne.

Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton said his organisation had been overwhelmed with entries this year, highlighting the commitment of the solar industry to excellence and constant improvement.

“The winners of the 2015 Clean Energy Council Solar Design and Installation Awards used innovative approaches to overcome complex challenges and outshone the rest of a very strong field,” said Thornton.

“This has been a record year for entries and I would like to congratulate all the winners and finalists for the high quality of their entries this year, which made the judging very difficult.

“It is once again an exciting time to be in the clean energy industry. The last couple of years have not been easy, but the innovation clearly evident in these awards provides inspiration for the rest of the industry.”

Winners of the 2015 Clean Energy Council Solar PV Design and Installation Awards

Grid-connect solar PV power system design and installation — under 15 kW: awarded to Peter Leeson from Leeson Solar for a 7.14 kW solar power system on a curved corrugated iron roof at one of Melbourne’s busiest ports.

Grid-connect solar PV power system design and installation — 15 to 100 kW: awarded to Jamie Thorncraft and Edie Barkla-Mather from Todae Solar for a 99.4 kW ground-mounted installation which made good use of an east-west axis to maximise the amount of power available during the day.

Grid-connect solar PV power system design and installation — over 100 kW: awarded to Matthew Wilson from EnviroGroup for a 355 kW solar power system at the Burder Industries manufacturing facility in Wangaratta, Victoria. The panel installation spelled the name ‘Burder’ across the roof of the facility.

Stand-alone solar PV power system design and installation: awarded to Brian England from Self Sufficiency Supplies for a solar installation at a crematorium. After investigating the options of a 3 km power line upgrade or a diesel generator, the crematorium decided to install a stand-alone solar power system — a reported first for the industry.

Grid-connect solar PV power system design and installation — battery back-up: awarded to Peter Duff and Jeremy Tranter from Towards Tomorrow Energy for a system which incorporated one of the first SMA hybrid systems installed in Australia.

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