5B & Zenith Energy Team Up In Australia

• Zenith Energy will use 5B's pre-fabricated readily deployable solar array technology for its projects in remote locations
• It plans to start with 3 project sites including for gas production and a nickle mine
• Since it is re-deployable, Zenith said it works as an economically viable option to expand renewable energy assets on mines for a short tenure and then moved at the end of the tenure

Off-grid power generation independent power producer (IPP) in Australia for remotely located facilities, Zenith Energy has turned a deployment partner of pre-fabricated 5B Maverick solar arrays of 5B under an Ecosystem Framework Agreement-Deployment (ESAD).

Zenith believes this 5B Maverick technology is an economically viable option that will enable it to expand renewable assets across its existing and future sites.

"The 5B Maverick system is re-deployable, meaning it can be integrated on mines with shorter tenure, and moved at the end of operations at those sites," said Zenith's Managing Director Hamish Moffat. "It offers Zenith greater ability to leverage value from our initial capital expenditure, making it more cost effective to offer expanded renewable energy solutions for our clients."

Initially, the IPP will deploy 5B Maverick for 3 sites including its 1^st engine-off project at IGO's Nova Nickel Mine which the duo claim will allow the site to continue its operations for up to 9 consecutive hours with the installation of an additional 10 MW solar and 10 MW battery energy storage system (BESS).

Another project is a hybrid power station in Warrawoona where Zenith will deploy 4 MW DC solar with 5B Maverick technology, pairing it with a 3 MW/3MWh AC BESS, all of which will contribute to reducing the use of gas.

Zenith has already started installing 2 MW solar on Red 5 site at King of The Hill accompanied by a BESS component.

For 5B, the deal is a 'validation' of its technology's ability to reduce deployment complexity which mines in remote areas usually face.

"The agreement also shows that our cost reduction efforts over the past two years have worked – we've hit the price point where 5B Mavericks can be viably packed up, and redeployed elsewhere, substantially reducing the risk of stranded assets in mining, agricultural and industrial operations," explained 5B Co-Founder and CEO Chris McGrath.

AES invested 5B recently announced it will acquire solar mounting systems manufacturer IXL Solar to scale up its prefabricated solar array systems technology (see Australia's 5B To Acquire IXL Solar).