Media Release, 20 October 2017
An innovative voltage stabilisation system to improve power security and efficiency at a major Australian winery has delivered winning honours to SCE Energy Solutions in the coveted national 2017 Wine Industry IMPACT Awards
SCE Energy solutions partnered in the project with Alkoomi Wines at the Frankland River, 300km south of Perth in the most isolated wine growing region of Western Australia.
The successful outcome was recognised with SCE Energy Solutions and Alkoomi Wines winning the engineering category in the Wine Industry IMPACT Awards presented before more than 400 special guests at the Adelaide Town Hall on Thursday 10 October.
The annual awards, presented by Wine Industry Suppliers Australia (WISA), showcase excellence in improving the competitiveness and capability of the nation’s grape and wine industry.
Industry experts judges this year’s winners from 15 finalists in categories including grape growing, winemaking, engineering, packaging, distribution and logistics, marketing and communications and tourism.
SCE Energy Solutions Directors, Jon De Martin and Phillip Lawrence, and Alkoomi Wines owner, Rod Hallet, said they were thrilled with the Wine Industry IMPACT award.
“Power stabilisation cost and securing are increasingly important issues for Australian Wineries, particularly where operators are distant from major centres of centralised energy production” Mr De Martin said.
Alkoomi Wines commissioned SCE Energy Solutions to address continual interruptions to electrical supply that resulted in significant inefficiencies with equipment in the winery.
“We carried out detailed analysis of the incoming electrical supply to the winery and energy consumption in the plant along with data provided by the company’s energy supplier. We also analysed previous energy accounts for Alkoomi Wines allowing us to plot the energy draw over a 12-month period”
“Overall, the analysis revealed problems with winery equipment turning on and off resultin gin costly energy reverberations. Harmonisation of the power supply was also measured with a particular focus on peak energy draw and the performance of equipment in relation to supply”
“We also investigated the impact of an on-site solar power system particularly during periods when that region of Western Australia reduced ins energy draw”
SCE Energy Solutions determined the solution for Alkoomi Wines included independent voltage stabilisation technology and harmonisation between grid supply voltage and the solar power voltage created on-site.
“the objective was a reduction in total harmonic distortion and improved balance between voltage and current.” Mr Lawrence explained.
“The result for Alkoomi Wines has been improved business efficiency and reliability of equipment through quality energy supply, it has also delivered very significant energy savings.”
“The wider impact of this case study is very clear because the wine industry is often at the mercy of extended energy grid supply that can result in voltage spikes, surges, sags and temporary transient events of many types”
The case study presented by SCE Energy Solutions and Alkoomi Wines won high praise from the 2017 Wine Industry IMPACT Awards judges, who said: “Power quality is becoming an increasingly important factor in electricity consumption and equipment reliability.
The joint project between SCE Energy Solutions and Alkoomi Wines can be adopted by every winery to change consumption and improve the carbon footprint while addressing greenhouse gas reduction and ultimately improving the business bottom line.
This is a timely and well-engineered approach to an industry issue with broad industry impact.”
Alkoomi Wines owner Rod Hallet said “Our aim is to produce the highest quality wines while also endeavouring to achieve maximum energy efficiency and minimum waste, SCE Energy Solutions is incredibly reliable and constructive in identifying key issues regarding ongoing energy efficiency that will continue on well into the future.”
WISE Executive Office, Matthew Moate, said the nation Wine Industry IMPACT Awards were highly regarded by peers in the wine and grape growing sectors with a 70% increase in entries this year.
“All entrants presented outstanding qualification for the award with the judges having a challenging task to short list finalists and select the ultimate winners that making such a positive impact in the industry” he said.
