An Australian Farmer Solved His Biggest Issue With Solar Power By Putting It On Wheels

Solar panels and farms are shaping up to be a match made in heaven. Not only are solar panels providing an unexpected benefit for farmworkers, but the land under solar panels is also proving to be beneficial to animals, including cows, sheep, and even bee colonies. For one farmer in Australia, switching to solar energy simply didn't work because most of his work is needed during hours of the day when there isn't any sunlight. So, he found an interesting workaround: a fully portable solar power system housed in shipping containers coupled with some extra heft in the battery storage department.

One of the biggest challenges of solar energy is the high upfront cost, but for Peter Mulheron, who operates a large dairy farm with over 200 cows in Victoria, Australia, the energy needs were complex on multiple fronts. For starters, the schedule is practically dictated by the cattle, mainly in the early morning or at night. Mulheron also needed a reliable power source for milk refrigeration, and the entire operation's hot water demand took up over a half of the entire farm's energy expenditure.

After setting up a traditional solar power setup, though, Mulheron realized that the system he purchased was not enough to cover the total of his farm's expenditure. But power supply wasn't his biggest issue. He and his family seem to be toward the end of their farming careers, so Mulheron wanted a solar installation that wasn't as permanent — or as expensive — as solar cells in a field. As it turns out, his son Matt, was an electrical engineering student and an intern at a company that designs off-grid solar and battery systems, and that company had developed a prototype for portable solar systems and battery storage that are deployed from shipping containers. 

The portable system uses panels capable of delivering 105kW of power and battery storage topping out at 241kWh, which was enough to meet all of Mulheron's farming needs. The system operates out of shipping containers with an entire solar array can be deployed on rails to address the power demands of the dairy farm, but even though the deployment itself takes nearly four hours, the extra effort is worth it. Why? The solar farm on wheels covers 90% of the farm's total power demand, while slashing annual energy costs by more than $22,000.

Portable solar energy is nothing new. In fact, smaller, foldable solar panels are commercially available, perfect for RV inhabitants, camping enthusiasts, and power outages. These solutions are lightweight and efficient enough to provide the juice for charging laptops, and all other types of devices. The power output varies depending on manufacturers, but they can range from as low as 100W to as high as 450W. Overall, these solutions are brilliant for those who can't justify cashing out thousands of dollars for a traditional system.

What about larger-scale portable panels, though? Those exist, too. The solar panels used on Mulheron's farm came from a company called PHNXX, a company that builds modular off-grid solar and battery systems. Housed in a package resembling shipping containers, this portable solar plant can be deployed almost anywhere where there's enough sunlight. In total, one container weighs 20 tons and includes 240 foldable solar panels. When extended, the solar farm can span nearly 400 feet, and, best of all, deliver 140kW.