- Parys, Free State
- 6 Weeks
Environmental Impact
3 303
Litres of Gasoline
27 091
Trees Saved
5 002 568
Litres of Fuel
What makes this project different?
The Energy Gurus were approached to tender for this project due to the complexities and stringent engineering requirements it presented. The team was the only firm to present an energy solution which included a containerised system. The engineered design and attention to detail warranted them a suitable fit to ensure that the plant’s intricate energy specifications were met.
“The main concern for the plant in Parys was the downtime it was experiencing when load shedding kicked in and there was an interrupted supply of power to the plant. This meant that after 30 minutes we would sadly lose approximately 2.5 million chickens as continual power supply is a fundamental part of production. The plant requires a consistent electricity supply for oxygen and water, as well as keeping the air feeding stations operational. Although, the plant has a diesel generator, we still faced challenges as, when switched on, the generator caused a two-minute delay. During that time, the team needs to manually re-set the control systems, the air-conditioning system, the oxygen feeders and the instruments that measure and control the oxygen levels. As this is an integral part of our operations, load shedding was having a significantly negative impact on the financial sustainability of the organisation. We are extremely grateful to have met with The Energy Gurus team, who demonstrated that they are able to customise a solution to an organisation’s unique energy needs. With our new system in place, the plant is no longer affected by interrupted power supply even during load shedding.”
Project Timeline and Equipment
- Location: Parys, Free State
- System Owner: Hy-Line International
- Timeline: 6 weeks
- System Size: 210 kWp
- Panels: 390 x Trina 550Wp panels
- 2 State of the art GoodWe 100kW inverters
- 1 x 400kVA Eaton UPS with 10 min back up
- 80 x 100Ah batteries for the UPS
- 1 year service level agreement, 15 year warranty on inverters & 25 year warranty on all panels
“When we met with the team from Hy-Line, the original load profiling assessment had already been completed. We as a team had to apply our minds, based on the challenges that the company was facing, and to provide solutions that provided an uninterrupted supply of power especially during load shedding. Based on our assessment, we proposed an Uninterrupted Power Solution (UPS) instead of a hybrid solar system.
The reasoning for the proposed solution was that the UPS takes power through to the AC, rectifies to the batteries of the DC, and then from the DC it inverts to the AC, and what this means is that power is fed through the battery all the time and then it discharges to the load. The amazing part of this process is that the power is purified into pure energy and thus resulting in a very good quality of power. When one looks at the hybrid inverter on the other hand, this does not achieve the same result especially when it relates to sensitive equipment that requires a very pure source of power, and hence the UPS idea worked the best”
The Energy Gurus opted for a containerised solution which meant that this container had to firstly be built off-site and then once completed, the unit had to be delivered in Parys for the planned installation where a group of 18 diverse and knowledgeable individuals were on-site for the installation processes. Conceptually this would mean that the process would be as straight forward as disconnecting the plant’s cables and connecting the cables from the container. The completed container unit comprised of two 100kW GoodWe inverters, a 400kW Eaton UPS, a Gem Switch Gear electrical board and 80 x 100Ah batteries for the UPS.
Disclosure
The Energy Gurus are a South African engineering firm specializing in energy measurement, power quality and renewable solutions. We guide our clients through every step of their energy journey, from initial consultations and system design to installation, maintenance, and ongoing support. Our end-to-end solutions ensure a seamless experience and maximum return on investment for our valued customers.
We measure, analyse and then recommend what is best for the company or end user. We have successfully carried out many turnkey EPCM contracts in the energy sector which makes us flexible to align different service offerings depending on the specific projects’ requirements.
Our engineers consult with our clients to define exactly what is it that they need to start reducing their monthly energy expenditure and costs from day 1.