Solar panels and solar batteries keep the power on at the St Andrews Wildlife Shelter with the fully donated system thanks to the support of our supply partners REC, Fronius, Powerplus and Selectronic. 

The St Andrews Wildlife Shelter is a volunteer run facility that rehabilitates hundreds of sick and injured wildlife every year. 

The challenge

Due to its rural location, the shelter was constantly under threat of power outages which could last for days at a time, making it difficult to properly care for the animals and keep their expensive food and medicines refrigerated. While the facility had a small existing solar setup, without a battery there was not enough backup power to withstand long outages. 

The solution

To help ensure the shelter has power 24/7, RACV Solar partnered with its suppliers in REC, Fronius, PowerPlus Solutions and Selectronic to donate a state-of-the-art solar and battery system, including a solar array and advanced power battery solution.

Prior to the solar install, the shelter’s last outage saw power cut for a week, resulting in wasted animal food that required refrigeration as well as vital incubators being unable to run. In the first few months since the solar installation, the system has already provided backup power to the shelter during numerous power outages and is helping to reduce the shelter's energy bills, allowing them to reinvest the savings into the care of the wildlife.

RACV Solar added to this existing system by donating :  

• 12 additional solar panels which equated to just under 5Kw 
  
• a 16Kw PowerPlus Battery 
• an additional Fronius Inverter 
• a Selectronic (Grid Failure Generator Battery Backup). 

"It has been amazing, we haven’t looked back since we have had the solar and battery. It is perfect for what we do."

- John Billan, St Andrews Wildlife Shelter