Vector powers up renewable energy drive

Hubbard Foods and lines company Vector are teaming up using the latest technology in solar energy to create the largest thin-film solar PV installation on a commercial business in New Zealand.

One hundred and sixty photovoltaic panels covering 227sq m on the roof of the Hubbards building in Mangere produce power for lighting in a warehouse.

The panels will generate 29,000kW/h of electricity a year - the equivalent to the power used to produce 169,000 packets of cereal or the amount of electricity consumed by 3.5 homes over the same time.

Vector chief executive Simon Mackenzie said the project could signal a new chapter of solar panel usage by commercial businesses.

"While this solar PV installation is not designed to power Hubbards' whole business, the savings still count. The added advantage is the new thin-film technology makes them lower cost per watt, easy to install and maintain."

Thin flexible film panels can be moulded to fit the roof.

Technology is rapidly developing in this area and it is expected that within the next three to five years it will become increasingly economically viable for consumers to invest in solar.

The current cost of energy generated from solar PV systems is around 50c per kWh - more than twice the retail cost - but is falling rapidly. Costs have fallen by half during the past two years as production steps up around the world, largely due to governments subsidising renewable energy for consumers.

In New Zealand it is estimated costs of generation could be comparable to grid-generated electricity within seven years.

Vector has been trialling small-scale generation as part of its wider interest in locating the source of generation close to where it will be consumed to ease pressure on distribution systems.

Hubbards chief executive Doug Paulin said a significant feature of these new generation panels was their ability to perform even on a cloudy day.

"This feature is a decided advantage for a business based in Auckland, which is not known for being the sunniest city."

With thin film solar PV it takes around two years for the energy produced by the panels to exceed the amount of energy it took to manufacture them.

It is expected they will last more than 25 years, and in the Hubbards installation produce enough electricity to displace 6.5 tonnes of CO2 that would have been otherwise produced from grid-generated electricity.