Swaying 'dominoes' have place in sun

West Australian
Wednesday 22/9/2010 Page: 30

They sit like two lines of giant dominoes. And as they gently sway and move as they track the sun, the new solar panels at Ocean Park Aquarium, near Denham, almost seem to have a life of their own. The two rows of 18 trackers stretch for about 100m on the area just inland of the aquarium's display tanks and shark pool. The whole structure represents what is believed to be one of the biggest privately owned solar-hybrid power systems in WA, with the ability to power the equivalent of about 20 average-sized homes a day.

The system is a common sense way to keep Ocean Park running. Because of its remote location on the ocean front at Shark Bay, Ocean Park is not connected to the power grid. As a result power for pumping the water in tanks around, filtration systems, refrigeration, cooking and power for the managers and staff is produced on the site. Large-capacity deep-cycle batteries store any surplus energy collected during the day so that during the night excess stored solar power can be drawn on.

There is also a back-up diesel generator but the solar panels are expected to save about 54,000 litres of diesel a year. The system cost just over $1 million, began running late in August and Ocean Park says it has created a lot of interest among locals and tourists. Co-owners Rick and Edmund Fenny said the system added an extra and eco-friendly attraction to about 200 marine species on display.