The Balladonia Road House is located on the Eyre Highway and provides a rest stop for travelers heading across the Nullabor in Western Australia. The Road House uses diesel generators which power the air-conditioning in the guest rooms, and the cooking appliances in the lunch bar.
The Road House recently installed a 40kVA solar array, supplied by Perth-based Regen Power, but needed it to function with the existing diesel generators to offer extra power and reduce the amount of diesel consumed.
Magellan supplied its Solar Zero Export Control Device the Solar Gate, in an innovated system which enabled it to be installed remotely as a turn-key solution.

Above is a graph of a typical day at Balladonia, with the Solar Gate "load following" function being used.
The Solar Gate solution enabled the solar array to work with the diesel generators by preventing reverse power flow. It was also used as a reverse power protection relay (IEC 60255). The Solar Gate ensures the diesel is constantly supplying 10kW’s worth of load, and the rest of the equipment is coming via solar.
The Solar Gate was provided in a box as a turn-key solution which could be easily installed in a remote location without excessive wiring or complicated installation.
For more information about the Magellan Solar Gate please contact
sales@magellanpower.com.au.