NSW fertiliser firm installs 100kW solar to cut bills $45k/year

Martin’s Fertilizers’ has installed the PV system on the roof of its HQ in Yass, NSW, including 420 250kW Yingli Solar solar PV panels, and seven solar inverters by the Australian arm of Swiss company, SolarMax.

The solar PV system will generate over 170MWh of solar power annually, which is expected to reduce Martin’s Fertilizers energy bills by up to $45,000 a year – and cut its carbon footprint by 157 tonnes a year – and deliver an internal rate of return (IRR) of 26 per cent each year.

The system will also use SolarMax’s web-based monitoring platform, providing a real-time display of performance data, and ongoing updates on the systems’ performance.

Brendon Martin, director of Martin’s Fertilizers, said his company turned to solar power to counter the impact of rising energy costs on the price competitiveness of its products.

“The carbon footprint for the production of fertilizers and soil tends to be fairly large and as this requires a significant amount of energy for production, solar power makes perfect sense as it will reduce our reliance for electricity from the grid,” Martin said.