Yuneska Harris – Engineering Manager – Clenergy

Yuneska Harris has contributed to over 800 PV rooftop and ground mounting solar installations, including the largest solar farm installed in an Australian airport. She has been working at Clenergy for the last 5 years, her background is cross-disciplinary, including project management and structural & geotechnical design. She is a qualified civil engineer and today she manages the engineering department at Clenergy

AS 1170.2:2021 updates and its impact in the design of solar installation (30 Core CPD)

There are some significant changes to PV mounting systems design since the introduction of solar panels and these changes can impact on budget and installation times of all new PV installations. An understanding of these changes will help installers to keep on top of best practice.

Attend this session to understand how new standards are going to affect PV design. Need a generic PV mounting certifications or Site-specific certificates? Learn to identify key paramenters to define if your project needs a site specific certificate.

Mr Lindsay Hart – Commercial Director – Selectronic

Apart from a 6 year stint heading up the inverter division for Solar Energy Australia, Lindsay Hart has been with Selectronic for his entire career since starting with the company in 1978 as an apprentice electronics tradesman.

He has helped develop and successfully launch almost 100 different inverter models since 1981.

Technical sales presentations and Training is the area that Lindsay most enjoys, trying to ensure that system design and installation is always of the highest quality.

A lifetime in the inverter business, Lindsay has been living Off Grid since 1994. and is proud of his lifelong achievements so far in the industry and excited about what lies ahead.

How to get Battery Installations/Design wrong

This topic will focus on where you have a choice of battery and inverter as opposed to an all-in-one.

Find out about: The different applications requiring different needs from a battery, paralleling batteries – how much current is OK, equidistant battery cables, an example of a simple design mistake and much more.

Justin Skaines, Belec&BlecEng (Hons)., Energy Storage Manager,  R & J Batteries

Justin has been working in the battery industry for 22 years. Specialising in the renewable energy sector since 2006. He has held a design and installation accreditation which is currently deferred. Working full-time with R & J Batteries heading up the Renewable Energy division with a specific interest in the BAE product from Berlin Germany.

Karolina Biernacka – Business Development Manager – Nation Energie

Karolina Biernacka has a PhD in Sodium-ion Batteries from Deakin University. After graduation she entered the Energy Storage industry to continue her passion for innovation and sustainability. Karolina is currently Business Development Manager for Nation Energie, a company established in 2021 as a joint venture between ICM Investments and UK-based sodium-ion leaders Faradion. Nation Energie are the first in the world to bring to market a commercial sodium-ion product.

Karolina has a genuine interest in and commitment to working within the energy sector and to contribute to the Australian innovation ecosystem – by discovering new energy storage technologies and commercializing this science through delivering product to market. Previously, she co-founded ‘ElevenStore’, a concept start-up based on the implementation of sodium batteries for mobility applications and cheap, affordable transportation, such as buses, scooters, electric bikes and auto-rickshaws in South East Asia. Awarded first prize in the Southeast Asia & Oceania ClimateLaunchPad competition and named a finalist in The 2020 Australian Women’s Weekly Women of the Future Awards.

First in Australia – Nation Energie Sodium-Ion Batteries

Nation Energie are the first in the world to bring to market a commercial sodium-ion product. In this session find out who they are and details about their product from battery characteristics and specifications to cycle life, charge and discharge profiles, their sustainability and costs and see a demo product on the floor.

Clean Energy Council – Member of the CEC Technical Service Team

Various members of the CEC Technical Service Team will present this session.

The solar bible – understanding AS/NZS 5033:2021

The year 2022 has seen a lot of changes in standards with more to come, requiring installers to constantly update their knowledge and change/modify their way in installing a solar system. From approved products to wiring to design and structures installers are bombarded with changes. This session will deal with a range of issues faced by installers.

Simon Ceglinski – Training and Distribution Manager – PowerPlus Energy

Simon Ceglinski is a passionate Renewable Energy Storage professional and a firm believer in making choices that will benefit long term sustainable outcomes, reducing living costs and impacts on the environments around us.
Having been passionately involved in the renewable industry, specialising in storage solutions in hybrid grid connect and stand-alone power stations for over 7 years, starting in lead Acid before moving to modern self-managed lithium storage solutions.
When not busy supporting distribution partners and installers around Australia and the Pacific Island, he spends time at the beach as a long term (>30 years) volunteer Surf Life Saving patrolling member and management board member at Brunswick Surf Life Saving Club and executive director of Surf Life Saving NSW – FarNorth Coast Branch.
Simon has a strong focus on delivering team-based customer driven results through amazing service, good business practices and ongoing training.

AS5139 – A closer look at some requirements

Even seasoned battery installers sometimes come across some queries. This session is designed to answer some of the most asked questions. What is DVC, how to calculate and how it effects your installation. Habitable rooms is a grey area, often causing installers to question if it is considered to be an inhabited room or not. How to determine which kind of pre-essembled battery system you are dealing with, section 5 or section 6?

Brian England – Managing Director – Self Sufficiency Supplies

Brian has been selling and installing solar since 1976 when the industry was in itʼs infancy. Co-founder of ATRAA in 1979 and involved in industry representation through itʼs various incarnations of SEIAA (Solar Energy Industry Association of Australia), BCSE (Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy) and CEC (Clean Energy Council). Currently National Chairman of SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association).   Through the 70ʼs and early 80ʼs he worked with the Lead Association of Australia and then with the CSIRO to develop battery specifications specific to the solar industry. Started a business in the 80ʻs designing, manufacturing, retailing and wholesaling battery chargers, inverter/chargers and solar charge controllers which finished as a joint venture in China.

A Casestudy – Troubleshooting Hybrid installations

Finding technical solutions to a range of site issues when installing batteries for grid connected systems. Once in a while even seasoned installers will hit a road block. This session will show how identifying customer needs for battery storage will assist to provide appropriate equipment for a whole house supply vs essential load back up. Hear about identifying solutions for systems on sub mains and for essential loads on sub mains.

Chris Martell – Managing Director – GSES

Prior to joining the team at GSES, Chris received his BSME from Northeastern University in Boston, USA in 2006.  Chris spent the following four years as a systems engineer in the long range radar division of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.  In 2010, Chris made the transition to PV and Renewables and earned his Master’s of Science in Photovoltaic Engineering from the University of New South Wales.  After graduating, Chris spent a year as the lead engineer for a residential PV installer in Sydney.  For the past years, Chris had worked as the Senior Engineer for a large Commercial PV installer and earned the 2013 Clean Energy Council award for best system design over 100kW. Since coming to GSES, Chris has lead multiple projects ranging from large grid connect and stand alone PV design to the training of international power companies and today is the Managing Director of GSES, a renewable energy training and consulting business which has been operating in Australia and overseas for 25 years.

EV Charging Essentials (30 Core CPD)

The session will provide an overview of EV Charging Systems including electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), enabling infrastructure and required software.  This session is for installers that are seeking to understand how EV charging can fit with their existing service offering.

It will also provide those who are already installing EV charging systems with a broad base of knowledge allowing them to better communicate with customers, equipment suppliers and software network operators.  Finally, in the session it will explain how EV charging is integral with smart energy systems and dovetails well with PV and BESS.

Ergon – Essential Energy – SA Power Network – WA Western Power – Aurora Energy

This session is designed for utilities and installers to open a two way communication. Utilities will update installers on what is happening for their networks and installers will be able to ask questions in regards to installations ie asking for feedback from audits, main switch sizing in regional areas and more.

Solar Installers- Your Conference, your forum, your say

What is happening in our industry? This is your opportunity to tell us your needs, your likes, your discontentment.

What are your experiences in the industry, what actions do you think need to be taken, what improvements for a better and safer solar industry can be made?

Update on last year’s forum topics.