Solar at Canada’s Paterson Lake Telecom System Reduces Generator Use by 60%

Application: Telecom
Location: Paterson Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada
Year: 2015
Product: TriStar 600-Vdc charge controllers and ground-fault protectors
System size: 15.6 kW
Partners include: NorthwesTel, Howell-Mayhew Engineering, Action Electric, JA Solar

An off-grid telecom system at Paterson Lake in Canada’s Northwest Territories traditionally relied on a diesel generator for electricity. Despite uneven slabs of rock, Howell Mayhew Engineering and Action Electric developed a 15-kW solar PV system to reduce generator use by 60%. Workers dropped off equipment from a helicopter because of no road access for 80 km. The installation uses black 260-W JA Solar modules and batteries for clean, reliable cost-effective solar electricity. The project also incorporated Morningstar 600-Vdc ground-fault protectors and charge controllers. Now, the system only requires the generator during the winter.

Photo courtesy of Howell-Mayhew Engineering