Power To Go…Wherever Needed

Power To Go…Wherever Needed ENERGY Solar Randy Johnson provides power to go with solar panels loaded on trailers Johnson and his partners got into the business when they bought 400 12kW trailers with 2 500 watts of solar panel capacity Demand proved strong enough that the company is introducing its own design later this year The trailers quickly proved ideal as remote power sources for construction sites farm and ranch needs disaster recovery and more “We have about 90 units for sale with new units deliverable before the end of the year ” says Johnson “The new units will have panels that automatically track the sun They’ll also automatically sense the wind and if it’s too high they’ll store the panels to reduce the chance of storm damage ” The concept of a solar panel-covered trailer had been patented by a former auto mechanic in California Later manufacturing rights were picked up by a distributor in Indiana near the factory where the mobile solar units were assembled In some cases Johnson upgraded systems to make 16kW and 20kW systems with 4 940-watt capacity The standard 12kW $25 500 and high capacity 16kW $32 500 systems are mounted on 22-ft by 8-ft by 8 1/2-ft trailers The 20kW $48 500 systems are mounted on 22-ft by 8-ft by 9-ft 3-in trailers They include a central control color touchscreen for monitoring and control with alert notifications to cellphones or laptops All three models are equipped with two 510 aH flooded lead-acid industrial batteries a backup propane generator and at least 1 000 watts of battery storage Four 30-lb propane tanks stored on the trailer are easily removable and refillable The generator features auto-start and shutdown “The backup generator only kicks in if the battery storage drops to 50 percent of full charge ” says Johnson “Then it turns on and runs for 3 hrs until the battery bank is back up to 90 percent ” In the 3 years since starting the business they’ve sold 275 mobile solar generator trailers from New Hampshire to California and Florida to Minnesota More than 100 systems have been used in northern California where big fires have taken a toll “One customer brought theirs into the local fire department and police station so first responders would have power ” says Johnson “Other customers find the systems more economical than hooking up to the grid Our record was a customer near Lake Tahoe who was told it would cost $75 000 to hook her home up to the grid ” Another customer was a cattle rancher with an 1 800-sq ft home with three barns spread out around his 1 500-acre property The home and the barns have wells pumps and storage tanks but no grid-based power “About every 2 weeks he unhooks the trailer from his house and drives to the three barns fills the storage tanks and returns home ” says Johnson In addition to panels that track the sun the new systems will be more efficient and will be available with a more powerful set of specifications if the customer wants them Another change is that the new solar panels will be made in the U S Within a year Johnson expects to be able to source batteries and inverters domestically as well “Our systems qualify for the same 30 percent tax credits as non-mobile solar ” says Johnson “However our systems cost 30 to 40 percent less for the same solar panels and batteries than rooftops because our installation happens on the factory floor ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Power Anywhere USA 31008 Clearwater Ct Georgetown Texas 78628 ph 512-930-5039; toll-free 833-765-2755; poweranywhere1@gmail com; www poweranywhereusa com

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