Batteries slash costs, emissions for utility company on a mission

Combining battery storage with a generator delivered silent power for a utility company’s portable offices, reducing emissions and enhancing worker comfort on-site.

The Challenge
Silent power for portable offices
The Solution
Battery storage system backed up by a generator
The Impact
Costs, emissions down, workers comfort up.

Client:Portacom

Location:Pāuatahanui, Wellington, New Zealand

Sectors:Utilities

The Challenge

Silent power for portable offices.

One of the largest utility companies in New Zealand was on a mission to rewire high voltage powerlines in a remote area of the North Island. The job took months to complete and required setting up portable powered offices. The customer sought a cost-saving solution that would also minimize noise on site and create a welcoming working environment for the team of high voltage electricians.

To meet these requirements, they turned to Portacom, a market-leading supplier of modular buildings across New Zealand. Portacom collaborated with Aggreko to deliver portable offices powered with a combination of a diesel generator and battery energy storage (BESS).

45kVABattery storage unit

11,732 Kg CO2Saved

60kVADiesel generator

4,377LitresOf fuel saved

756LitresOf fuel used

5 ModulesPortable offices

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The Solution

Battery storage system backed up by a generator

To meet the customer's requirements, Aggreko sized the generator and battery storage according to the power needs on site. They provided a 60kVA generator and a 45kVA battery.

As portable offices require a moderate amount of power, the battery was intended to do the bulk of the job, with the generator only used to trickle charge the battery after hours. A redundancy system was in place to ensure

“The buildings on our handover were all up and running with no noise. Last year there was continuous noise 24/7 with the generator running to power the buildings. Now other than the general work noises, we can enjoy the environment we are working in, it’s an amazing little spot. The set up also supports our Health Safety and Environment initiatives.”

Tim Drake , Transmission Line Project Manager - Ventia

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The Impact

Costs, emissions down, workers comfort up.

The customer was able to save over $14,000 NZ in fuel costs and a staggering 11,732 kg of CO2, equivalent to taking 7 passenger cars off the road for one year.

Further, with a 1000L fuel tank supplied at the start of the job, there was no need to perform multiple vehicle trips for refuelling (estimated 13 trips), which contributed to reduced project costs and scope 2 emissions.