In 2022 Contact Group was engaged by Tasmania’s Department of Parks & Wildlife to design and deliver a new solar and battery array on the World Heritage Listed Maria Island.
Our design included a new main switchboard, a 55kw ground mount solar system, 215kWh of lithium battery storage and two new backup generators, all controlled and remotely monitored via a ComAp Hybrid controller.
Throughout the project Contact Group was able to implement a range of cutting-edge products and clever design initiatives to optimise the system and deliver the best possible solution for the remote island.
The original specifications assumed the system would be installed in a battery and inverter room. Contact Group proposed an alternative design to supply an enclosure system which was mounted on a 2×4 meter concrete plinth. This allowed for offsite manufacturing of all components, requiring less time on site to assemble all the components and enclosures/connections.
The whole system was pre-wired within the factory and pre-programmed prior to going to site and then once programmed the system was assembled and freighted to site for reassembly and final commissioning. This clever design idea saved on site time, which was a huge benefit for all parties, given the remote island is only accessible by barges and ferries.
In 2023 Contact Group won a National Green Energy Award at the 2023 NECA Excellence Awards held in Sydney.
Contact Group’s Managing Director, Wade Fromberg, said he was humbled by the Award, which is the company’s first National Award in over 25 years of contracting.
“Being a family business based in Tasmania, it’s great to represent the state on a national stage,” he said.
Contact Group is passionate about renewable energy and has successfully delivered two remote island projects for the Tasmanian Government.
The first being on Cape Barren Island in 2020 and now this one on Maria.
Mr Fromberg said the latest Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project was an interesting one to take on.
“Being a design and construct contract, we had many hurdles to overcome due to Maria Island’s remote location,” he said.
Organisation was key to the success of the project, given there was no regular barge servicing the Island.
“A barge had to come from Hobart when required, as there was a large civil component and almost all raw material had to be freighted onto the island from the mainland,” he said.
Mr Fromberg congratulated his entire team on the win, and said he was extremely proud of the on-site technicians who spent many weeks living away from home.
