Smart Energy - Joint Winner (Export Category) in Business Excellence Awards

We’ve been working pretty hard at developing our business here at Smart Energy since we started in 2005, so we see last night’s Business Excellence Award as confirmation that we are heading in the right direction.  The Business Excellence Awards dinner was held by the Aoraki Development Trust and it was a great opportunity for attendees to learn more about the many successful companies to be found in South Canterbury.

View Smart Energy’s short video clip shown at the Awards Dinner for a background into the work we’re doing developing renewable energy systems for Afghanistan.  It is amazing what can be achieved in Timaru with a great team, an internet connection, and a couple of business partners who aren’t adverse to taking a few risks!

Alternative Way to Cut Power Bills - Timaru Herald Article

Grid-Smart Solar systems - where electricity generated thought your solar PV modules is used directly to power your house with any excess being sent to the grid to offset future purchases - will hopefully become as commonplace here in New Zealand as they are overseas.  Fleur Cogle from the Timaru Herald caught up with me yesterday to look at the Grid-Smart Solar system we have at our family home in Timaru.  Click here to read her article.

Smart Energy - Finalist in Business Excellence Awards

It is a great honour that Smart Energy has today been selected as a finalist for the Aoraki Development Trust’s Business Excellence Awards in the Export Category.  This is to recognise the skills and product we have been exporting to developing countries over the last four years - mainly to Afghanistan, but also to Korea and the Pacific.

The Business Excellence Awards will be presented on Thursday the 8th October.

“Off the Grid” - a Timaru Herald Feature

The Timaru Herald has published a feature on Maree Handy’s solar powered house in Fairlie.  Smart Energy installed an 800Wp PV (solar) system to generate electricity, backed up by a small diesel generator.  The electrical demand in Maree’s house is very low due to the Thermocell solar hot water system, radiators powered by her wood-burning cooker, and a low energy GRAM fridge and ELCOLD freezer (all supplied by Smart Energy).  To read the article and find out more, click here.

TV One News Special Report

TV One’s Rawdon Christie catches up with Smart Energy in Timaru to talk about our work in Afghanistan and how that is paving the way for renewable energy power systems here in New Zealand.  To watch the interview  click here.

NEW! Smart Energy Home Assessments!

Smart Energy in Afghanistan

Smart Energy has supplied and installed Afghanistan’s first wind farm - ten 7.5kW Bergey Excel wind tubines - in the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul.  Due to be opened in November 2008, this wind farm provides electricity for local government offices, reducing the reliance on diesel, which has recently soared in price making it financially unviable.

Smart Energy has worked alongside local Afghanistan company, Sustainable Energy Services Afganistan (SESA) and New Zealand company Empower Consultants Ltd, offering training and advice on equipment and installation.  The logistics of the project has been both challenging and rewarding, with delays incurred by the arrival of early winter snows in October 2007 just prior to initially anticipated completion completion.

North and South Article on Smart Energy’s Renewable Energy Systems

Recently journalist Damien Christie accompanied Tony Woods to Afghanistan to see first hand the installation of the country’s first wind farm - ten Bergey Excel 7.5kW turbines - to power local government offices.  He also looked at how we’re using our experience in designing and installing onsite renewable power systems overseas, back here in New Zealand to provide options for builders of new houses facing large connection costs to the national grid.  His article was published in this month’s North and South magazine, Issue 267.  To view an online copy, click north & south article

Smart Energy wins award for solar installation!

Smart Energy won the award for the largest off-grid installation in New Zealand at the recent inaugural SEANZ Conference in Auckland.  The 24kW stand alone power system in Central Otago used ground mounted 200 watt Kyocera solar photovoltaic (PV) modules connected to an array of 2 volt 3000 amp hour batteries, using SMA inverters and controllers, and SMA’s new Multicluster Box - the first installed worldwide, and with excellent results.