A remote asparagus processing plant in western Germany has found a solution to its expensive operating costs through the installation of an ATESS solar and storage system.
On the outskirts of a small town in western Germany, on the border with the Netherlands, an asparagus processing plant has ditched its dependency on diesel and is drawing on clean energy to power its operations.
The factory, Spargelhof Willensen, is a fourth-generation family business that specialises in the harvesting and packaging of white and green asparagus. It is in a remote location that has limited service from the grid.
In 2020 and 2021, the farm expanded its asparagus cultivation area from 10 hectares to more than 100, and constructed new production halls that see it handle 750,000kg of white asparagus and 150,000kg of green asparagus annually.
The business historically had to rely on expensive diesel generators that were inadequate to deliver on the energy needs of the plant, which includes the production facility and sale and administration offices.
Site owner Alexander Willemsen turned to solar energy company Shenzhen ATESS Power Technology Co (ATESS) to elevate the factory’s production through efficient and clean power.
The solution was to install a 450kW (464kWh) containerised energy storage system equipped with three parallel ATESS 150kW HPS all-in-one hybrid inverters and ATS (automatic transfer switch).
The result is the factory gaining 90 per cent energy independence with seven hours of back-up power.
“We have now had this system for a year and are very happy with it because we can generate almost all of the energy we need by solar,” Willemsen said. “We are also doing good for the environment while saving on the cost of energy that normally would be taken from the grid.”
Since the installation of the solar system, the processing equipment and cold-chain facilities at the asparagus plant can operate without interruption. In addition, all electrical appliances and lighting in the office area, as well as 80 sleeping units in the employee dormitory space, are powered by the ATESS energy storage system.
“The [asparagus-growing] season is from April to June, which is when we require the most electricity, so we decided to install a big solar system,” Willemsen said. “We run 896 of the 500kWp solar panels, plus a big storage system from ATESS, which serves us day and night.
“Everything is working really well and we only have to make a few small adjustments to settings to get it operating perfectly. We couldn’t be happier.”
For more information, visit au.atesspower.com