Renewable Energy Technologies

Tailoring technology to deliver optimal project outcomes

In the development of projects Sunrise will consider a number of different technologies available in the market and select those that are best suited to the project specifics and achieve the optimum outcome for the customer. The type of technologies Sunrise considers for renewable energy developments are:

Resource Validation

SODAR (Sonic Detection and Ranging) units can be dispatched to proposed renewable generation sites to validate wind resources, which is often desirable prior to committing to a project. A SODAR operates by emitting sound waves into the atmosphere and analysing the backscattered sound waves that return from the atmospheric turbulence. They can provide profile wind speed at various heights above ground, typically from 20 to 200m.
Meteorological Masts are other means of validating wind resources at a potential renewable development site. The direct measurement approach using anemometers and wind vanes at the selected turbine height is often accepted to be more accurate than a SODAR and generally preferred by potential project investors.

Solar Generation

Rooftop – this can be the typical type of installation commonly seen on houses and commercial buildings using rigid panels mounted on racking however flexible panel options are also available that can be directly mounted to curved roof contours for a more discreet look.
Ground Mounted – for larger arrays or where sufficient roof space is not available, ground mounted system using various types of racking systems can be installed
Redeployable – Redeployable solar units are installed on the ground but come as pre-assembled units where the panels are mounted on folding racking connected to concrete footings, such as the 5B Maverick unit. It’s portability and rapid deployment often make it suitable for remote and/or temporary power needs.
Structure Mounted – This solution is employed for installations such as car park solar where the solar also serves as shading.
Single Axis Tracking – Single axis tracking is ground mounted solar but where the panels are mounted on a rotating tube (fixed to piles driven in to the ground) that enables the panels to track the sun from east to west. By tracking the sun, it is possible to not only harness more energy in total but also more energy at the most valuable time of day, ie. in the morning and late afternoon when energy is typically most expensive.

Wind Generation

New Wind Turbines – For large scale developments where the focus is maximising the generation output, it is generally most economical to install the newest and often largest wind turbines.
2nd Hand Refurbished Wind Turbines – When looking at smaller scale developments where the return is more sensitive to capex and the focus is not necessarily on just maximising generation, but perhaps on reliability. In these instances if wind generation is complimentary to solar generation such as in reliability microgrids then small (ie. below 1MW) refurbished 2nd hand wind turbines purchased from Europe can be a good solution.

Back-up Generation

Diesel Generators – Diesel generation is by the far the most common means of back-up generation, covering both small and large scale projects, and typically required in most off-grid renewable solutions. This is well established technology and easily integrated into a renewables based energy solution.
Hydrogen Generators – If a completely zero emissions off-grid solution is sought then for smaller scale projects a hydrogen generator can be used in place of diesel. This is relatively new technology and only available from a few suppliers. The hydrogen generator uses a fuel cell to convert stored hydrogen to electricity.

Energy Storage

Lithium Batteries are the typical go for solution when it comes to energy storage and used for both small and large scale projects due to their high energy density for relatively low cost. For large scale projects containerised solutions are utilised (typically 20ft shipping containers) and can be either air or liquid cooled, depending on the project specifics. For smaller scale projects, Sunrise can customise the installation solution, providing stand-alone weatherproof solutions that can be mounted outdoors, integrated solutions inside existing rooms or build customised battery rooms. When paired with solar generation the batteries can be configured as either AC-coupled or DC-coupled, depending on what the project objective are.
Vanadium Flow Batteries can be considered when looking for solutions with a greater sustainability given the vanadium electrolyte is 100% reuseable and has a lower environmental impact than lithium. They have larger footprint than lithium, however if space is not a significant constraint, Vanadium Flow batteries offer the advantage of maintaining their capacity throughout their entire lifespan (which can be over 25 years) being non-flammable and non-explosive, operating over a wider range of temperatures, and high scalability in that the cost per unit of electricity decreases with scale
Raygen provides innovative long-duration energy storage (typically 10-20hrs) through a unique combination of solar power generation and thermal storage technology. The energy storage is provided by a hot (near boiling) and cold (near freezing) water storage reservoir. The temperature difference between the two reservoirs drives an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) engine to generate electricity. The advantages of this system is that it captures the waste heat from solar generation for use in the thermal storage system and achieves a high overall system efficiency by utilising both electrical and thermal energy.

Automation, Controls and Protection

LV – For low voltage systems there are numerous packages available in the market for performing the automation, controls and protection functions required for operation an renewables energy system. Sunrise will can help in selecting between these to arrive at the best overall solution for the system.
HV – Automation, Controls and Protection for renewables operating in a high voltage system are more specialised. Often these can be designed and built to the specific requirements of the project and can be delivered as pre-packaged containerised units. Sunrise typically works with out HV integration partner to arrive at the best solution.
DERMS – DERMS is a Distributed Energy Resource Management System and is a software platform design to monitor, control and optimise distributed energy resources (DER) on the electrical grid. DERMS can often be a good platform for controlling a lot of small individual solar systems within a residential microgrid.