Solar Cube SAPS (Stand-Alone Power System)

Solar Cube was borne out of the need to address mounting concerns regarding ageing power distribution infrastructure across Australia and the significant ongoing costs associated with maintaining and upgrading power infrastructure to ensure continued compliance. Design consideration was also given to developing a solution which could respond to the growing need by utilities and communities for a reliable off-grid power system to support the rapid response and longer term recovery efforts following catastrophic natural disasters, such as bush fires. Solar Cube's development in alignment with this criteria was ultimately critical to its viability.

Solar Cube has been designed to be a commercially viable alternative power solution to traditional poles and wires networks. The system combines solar photovoltaic panels, advanced battery storage technology and back-up generation to provide a reliable utility-grade power solution. Solar Cube's advanced modular design enables the system to be preassembled then trucked to site where it is deployed and ready to export energy in under 90 minutes. Swappable sub-components reduce onsite maintenance and servicing needs and costs, and the remote monitoring technology detects issues quickly, with most issues able to be resolved remotely - significantly reducing outage times.

Solar Cube enables utilities to provide power to customers no matter where they live or work without the need for poles and wires infrastructure. This is beneficial for utilities servicing remote or hard to reach communities where the cost to maintain and upgrade traditional infrastructure can be significantly higher. Customers are benefiting from higher quality, more reliable and cleaner energy. Outages are significantly reduced, limiting the use of the back-up diesel generator. In emergency situations, the Solar Cube's quick deployment features will significantly reduce the time it takes to deliver critical power to aid in rapid response and recovery efforts.

The design brief for this project outlined the need for an energy generation solution that was compliant to stringent operational standards. Supply reliability was a driving force behind Solar Cube's development, ensuring Western Australian utility Horizon Power was able to continue to provide a utility grade power supply to their customers without the need for overhead poles and wires connection. Whilst Solar Cube predominantly generates its power from its 10 roof mounted solar panels, the integration of advanced battery storage technology and a diesel generator ensure that the unit can reliably operate in isolation to the traditional electricity grid. Additionally, the integration of remote monitoring technology within each unit enables monitoring of key performance data to quickly identify and resolve operational issues without the need for on-site attendance. Solar Cube is also designed to facilitate rapid deployment. With the majority of SAPS beneficiaries located in extremely remote locations, Solar Cube was designed to enable deployment from back of truck to supplying loads in just 90 minutes. Significantly reduced deployment times ensures rapid re-connection of the customer's power supply and the ability for deployment teams to commute and successfully install the unit or replace key components within one day.