A show of hands for a pop quiz after a training session
Has it really been a whole year since we last enjoyed the warm embrace1 of the Melbourne convention center? It doesn’t feel like it but for those who couldn’t attend, please read on while I document a few random pictures from the enormously busy exhibition floor.
This collection is by no means a representative sample because I never remember to take enough photos but I’m pleased to report the attendance record was broken again this year. The place was heaving with 10,000 energy industry experts. 2
Sadly you couldn’t appreciate this thing from any distance.
Ridiculously Beautiful; Beautifully Ridiculous
Perhaps the most outrageously interesting thing was this solar smart flower. It was intricate, with dozens of moving parts to not only stow the panels but make the entire thing track the sun.
Fronius inverter hiding in the base
It looked amazing. I know from owning a tracking array myself, (though the engineering here was a million times better than mine) it would still be an unreliable indulgence compared to fixed solar… but such an attractive one.
It would have been fun to see this thing in action.
A Whole Lot Of Sunfarming Equipment
Apparently, farming must involve tractors, so Sunbrush has put them to work cleaning sun farms and mowing grass (that would be better eaten by sheep)
Tractor had a side mounted grass slasher as well as novelty oversized bottle brush.
An Unusual Dose Of History
Call me a train spotter, but I did have a little giggle about the very futuristic Delta Electronics stand with its array of batteries, EV chargers, and inverters. They had this nifty illuminated EV silhouette; of a 16-year-old car. I guess they’re paying homage to the first volume production EV of the modern era.
I’ve shaded this blue because water clear illuminated plastic is hard to photograph
iMiev – the timeless classic.
Instant Power
Another thing that caught my eye was a transportable solar power system. I’m pretty sure I invented this about 14 years ago but these guys from Endapta seem to have beaten me during the development stage, mainly because I didn’t do more than a pencil drawing.
Where these types of things always struggle is with solar. At 5.5kWp the fold out array would generate about 22kWh/day which is enough for one average house. To help solve this problem they also offer another 24kW of solar that can be deployed quickly on the ground, but the diesel generator is going to back everything up.
Diesel generator of the right, 12 black batteries on the left, blue box for inverting power to 230 volts and a fold out solar array
For those who like numbers to get a handle on what this unit will do, it’s pretty gutsy. Even the basic specification should run 3 modest houses.
+ Inverter power output 15kVA to 90kVA with single or three phase options
+ Batteries onboard offering storage of 60kWh to 240kWh
+ Generator backup 10kVA to 100kVA
I’d expect the full sized model would run a large movie set or a small mining camp, burning some diesel during the day and keeping quiet at night.
Either way a few of these would be priceless for natural disaster responses.
Endapta have a more utilitarian array than the smart flower above.
Everything Was Electric
I was surprised to see Toyota turn up with a stand full of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles but I didn’t get a chance to ask them how far away from Geelong you could get before you had to go back there to refuel. We shouldn’t laugh, really, because there are four filling stations in Australia, and I’m guessing 25 million power points to recharge your EV.
I’ve yet to see a Tesla Semi in Australia
There was also an EV prime mover which I didn’t have much time to crawl over. Obviously a copy of a Tesla, it was still good to see a real live example, complete with a heap of TVs inside instead of rear vision mirrors.
With a name like Windrose and a distinct lack of chrome exhaust stacks, I can’t help but imagine your average dinkum Aussie truck driver might feel a little emasculated. Dog help us when they find a pedal with 1400hp under it though.
Centre seat and 729kWh of battery behind you. Claimed 670km range and 1400hp
There’s more to come from Melbourne once I’ve transcribed a few notes but hopefully that’s given you a little taste of what the biggest renewable energy conference in Australia looks like.
There’s a broad mix of tradies trying to earn CPD points to retain their accreditation, government ministers trying to win votes, and trade stand attendants trying to attract customers, but what I really need is a few more days to see it all. I guess there’s always next year.
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Anthony, I’ll bet you all the coffee and Timtams you can hold, that there wasn’t a crush of electric tractors, though, compact or otherwise. (I’ve been hunting actively for a year now, and even the Kubota LXe261, advertised for “long term rental to local councils only”, in 2022 was readvertised this year with identical spiel. Solectrac have vanished, and the Solis Sv24 “Gen 2” is still not there. New Holland has a big 74 Hp one, but it’s “Apply for a quote” expensive.)
I’m also looking for EV fast charging stations which just take cards.
(Payment guff can stay off my phone.) The appalling third world infrastructure provision is a major disincentive to EV adoption.
(OK, EVie is trialling simple card use with a few stations, but any mob already doing it network-wide wins me over instantly.)
Given the big gas turbine powered generators shipped into Broken Hill last week, after a bunch of high voltage power pylons blew over, about the same time as four went down in SA, I figure that we are likely to devolve to an intermittently connected grid reliant on local generation to provide climate resilience. Some of those portable solar/battery combos will unquestionably help at the edges, I figure. It’s about a year since six pylons blew down in Victoria, and a couple since the SA connector went. That’s at +1.5 degC, and emissions are still increasing, so +3.1 degC is the trajectory, according to the UN. That is +20% atmospheric moisture (cf +10% now) to fuel cyclones, so it’ll be an underground grid or local generation if you want energy security – and we lack the foresight to underground before climate mitigation costs leave the budge cupboard bare.
And if the AMOC slows as fast as some researchers suspect now, then the 93% global heating going into the oceans reduces, with unfunny consequences. One of those big power packs in the back yard could become very popular. (Very good for EV charging too.)