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64 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON
AU T UMN 20 1 6
HANDS ON IN THE HILLS
A
t the end of a winding dirt
road that ascends the densely-
forested Mt Toolebewong,
70km north-east of Melbourne, is the
Moora Moora Community Coop. The 245
hectare, cooperatively-owned property
– comprised of approximately 30 homes
– has existed off-grid for over 40 years
and is the venue for SolarQuip’s four-day
solar hybrid and off-grid training course.
The course teaches students how to
size, configure, program and design both
on-grid hybrid systems and off-grid stand-
alone power systems. I’ve come up for
the day to check out Moora Moora, get a
feel for how the course is delivered and to
meet some of the staff and students.
The course is run by Australian Solar
Council vice president and SolarQuip
founder Glen Morris. I find Glen making
his way across a field that separates the
classroom where the theory elements of
the course are taught and the student’s
lodge.
Glen, himself a long-time resident
of Moora Moora, is happy to show me
around and tell me about the course
which, he stresses, is available to anyone
who’s interested and as such has no
prerequisites. That being said, Glenn does
suggest that a basic understanding of
solar systems and simple mathematical
equations will come in handy.
“I deliberately run the course
without any specific prerequisites.
It’s not an accreditation unit or a unit
of competency from an RTO, it’s just
professional development. I have run lots
of courses for electricians in the past but
this time I want to deliver training for
people who need extra knowledge in the
area but who might not necessarily be
involved in the installation,” says Glen.
This sentiment is reflected in the varied
backgrounds of the students
who attend the course. Among the
students this time around there’s an
electrician who wants to learn more
about hybrid systems and batteries, a
mechanical engineer looking to improve
his practical knowledge and an IT
professional thinking about moving into
the renewables sector. Of course, they’re
all here for different reasons
and all have different levels of skills
and knowledge.
We walk around to one of the practical
training areas where there is a host of
semi-permanently installed systems for
the students to practice on. The brands
represented here include:
>
SMA Australia (Sunny Island 8.0H,
SB3000TL-21, SB5000TL-21, Webbox,
Sunny Sensor, and Meteorstation)
>
Schneider Electric XW+ 8.5kW
inverter/charger, 600V80A MPPT,
RL 3kW solar inverter, combox and
system control panel
>
Selectronic SP Pro
>
Outback Radian (7KW), Flexmax 80 and
Mate3
>
Studer Innotec XTM4000, VarioTrack,
RCC, and other monitoring equipment
>
AERL CoolMax charge controllers
>
Plasmatronic Dingo charge controllers
>
Fronius Galvo string inverter
>
Canadian Solar PV modules and
Camel Energy Storage System (full
hybrid unit)
>
SolaX hybrid inverter with Pylontec
Lithium storage system
>
ET/SolarBridge micro inverters (both
on-grid and off-grid configurations) plus
Power Manager
>
AirBreeze DC wind turbine
>
StreamEngine 2kWmicro hydro turbine
“We’ve got several training areas
that are essentially work zones for
A PRACTICAL HYBRID/OFF-
GRID TRAINING COURSE BEING
DELIVERED OVER FOUR DAYS
IN THE HILLS OUTSIDE OF
MELBOURNE IS ATTRACTING
STUDENTS FROM NEAR AND FAR.
JACOBHARRIS
HEADS OVER TO
CHECK IT OUT.
TRAINING
Australian Solar Council vice president
and SolarQuip founder Glen Morris runs
regular four-day solar hybrid and off-
grid training courses.