| 17 T T Aimee Wilson At forefront of solar energy solutions In Roxburgh the community has used solar to heat its new outdoor pool, saving thousands of dollars every year, and at no cost to ratepayers, compared to other council-owned swimming facilities in the district. Infinite Energy NZ REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Cromwell-based Infinite Energy NZ is leading the way with its design and installation of solar renewable energy solutions — including several large-scale projects right on its doorstep. A market leader in the industry since 2013, the family-owned company has been involved in some impressive energy solutions across the South Island in recent years, both in the commercial and residential sectors. Breen Construction has just built a low energy passive-certified timber commercial office in Wanaka — the first of its kind in New Zealand, complete with solar panels that are producing enough surplus energy to run the building, charge their battery and feed back into the national grid. Development manager, Trevor Breen, said the building was on average only consuming 50-60 kilowatts a day, and when the sun was shining produced 80-100 kWh a day. Back in Cromwell, Infinite Energy is currently involved with one of the largest projects in the region, a massive 600 solar panels for the new Truss Tech factory. “It’s a serious piece of infrastructure and it’s fantastic to see a new facility realising that the cheapest form of energy is from their roof,” Infinite Energy director, Regan Heal, said. There’s plenty of other examples of commercial projects around the town; the Harvest Hotel and neighbouring Super Liquor have all gone solar in the past few months, as well as Cromwell College with its new technology block. Further south in Roxburgh, the community has used solar to heat its new outdoor pool, saving thousands of dollars every year, and at no cost to ratepayers, compared to other council-owned swimming facilities in the district. Regan takes sustainable energy solutions seriously and is currently a director of Sustainable Energy Association of New Zealand. Now employing a team of 13, the company recently completed Totika accreditation, which was the ‘gold standard’ for workplace health and safety. Important given the installation team works at great heights, the company was investing in staff and making it attractive for people to work there. “One of our biggest challenges is attracting enough new people into the industry,” he said. Also, solar can be an industry that doesn’t lend itself to a lot of repeat business; every single project meant the team was starting from scratch, educating the client about the benefits of solar energy. “In the solar industry, we’re not dealing with many well-known consumer brands. Our customers need great advice and this starts with great design. “We like to build solutions, not sell products and to do this, good design is critical. We manage relationships with multiple brands and suppliers to maintain that integrity of ‘fit for purpose’, not ‘one size fits most’.” The industry has seen amazing growth in recent years, which is only set to continue. Solar is the cheapest form of renewable energy available, and as power prices increase, the savings only improve. “We absolutely live and breathe this industry. It’s all we do. It’s a massive industry globally, and we want to be right at the forefront.” ¨ȸȒɖƳ ɎȒ ɯȒȸǸ ɯǣɎǝ !ȒȇɎƏƬɎ 0ȅǣǼɵ (ƺȸǝƏȅ א זה וו Ǽ ƺȅǣǼɵ۬ƫƏȸȸƺɎɎǝȒȅƺɀِƬȒِȇɿ 1115 ,, ..")' -5 )5(4 )/- ~U~ ( ~ % ! -~ &&#(!~ )1: ³Á «ÁXzJ I« x yeg_6___ 9LQWDJH 6WUHHW :RRLQJ 7UHH (VWDWH &URPZHOO ~ ~ ~ ~
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