Powerhouse Wind has launched a stand-alone renewable power generator and storage system, combining solar and wind, to provide electricity in remote locations not easily serviced by the grid.
Lines companies in both the North and South islands have already shown interest in the PowerCrate and the first trials were now beginning.
While hybrid generation was not new, the novel packaging and diversity of generation was a key part of its value proposition, Powerhouse Wind engineer Bill Currie said.
Powerhouse launched its patented Thinair single blade wind turbine for rural residential power generation in 2014, building it with New Zealand’s windy climate in mind.
Housed in a shipping container frame, PowerCrate generated power through a fold-up 12-metre tall Thinair turbine and fold-out PV panels. Electricity was stored in Li-ion batteries and supplied through an AC inverter.
It could be dropped off by Hiab and deployed and generating power in under three hours.
The system was capable of generating enough power for a rural household or remote shearing shed, and higher power variants were in design.
The idea of PowerCrate came during Covid-19 lockdown when the Powerhouse crew were unable to go into the office or do normal development work and the concept was subsequently worked on at home.
While there was investment in sustainable energy for national grids and photovoltaic solutions for grid-connected single homes, there was really not anything for off-grid houses or rural communities, Mr Currie said.
Some New Zealand and Pacific communities and households still suffered energy hardship — limited or no access to power — and often had to rely on diesel generators, he said.
Climate change was forcing decarbonisation to be addressed and the clean, diverse generation in the PowerCrate was important for minimising diesel use, he said.
He also saw another opportunity for the system as the demands on New Zealand’s energy supply grew and lines companies faced increasing costs to maintain ageing lines in rural areas. The problem was exacerbated by more frequent and increasingly violent storms.
Technology had improved since those lines were installed, some more than 40 years old, and it was getting to the stage where questions were being asked "what happens next?" It would be hard to justify replacing some, he said.
Powerhouse hoped to be in a position to offer a solution that people would be happy with, which was better than having unreliable lines. There was anecdotal evidence of people using diesel generators for three or four days after storms.
It was not just about housing; the company was looking at various other sectors including adventure eco-tourism and communications. There were a lot of people running the likes of marine farms or livestock farms or forestry operations in remote areas.
The question had been asked if they could be installed by helicopter and that was a possibility while an investor in the company was keen to see a timber PowerCrate which would work well for overall sustainability, Mr Currie said.
The support from Dunedin’s innovation sector had been "fantastic" and the PowerCrate was built from parts mostly sourced from within the city’s own engineering ecosystem.
He was "incredibly grateful" to those that had invested in Powerhouse. Money was raised a few years ago through a PledgeMe crowdfunding campaign while there were several small funding rounds held recently.
The company, which employed its first full-time employee last week, was focused on the next 12 months and getting the product on to sites to demonstrate them and hopefully start to build a book of buyers. At that point, it would try to do a larger funding round, he said.
