Great Barrier Island field station

In 2016, Neo Consulting (formerly Ergo Control Systems) undertook a project to replace the diesel generators at the field station situated on Great Barrier Island. The Island couldn’t supply reticulated power, which meant these generators needed to operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week. When reviewing site operations, a full life-cycle cost analysis was performed.

The outcome was to replace the direct generator with a hybrid system, to incorporate renewable energy in a sustainable way. The field station was only occupied by a caretaker for 70% of the year and the hybrid solar system enabled significant cost savings on diesel consumption and maintenance. When completed, the system included a 10kw solar system with 48 hours battery storage capacity.

Supplying renewable energy to this site was crucial. To ensure the system could handle extended periods of consumption, two duty/stand-by 30kVA diesel generators were installed.