United Crate was formed in 1963 by a number of growers who saw the need to provide a packaging service conducive to their marketing requirements. The idea was to provide uniform packaging, so that produce could be sold by a common unit rather than weighing everything. Today the company has over 40,000 crates in circulation across the fruit and vegetable growing industry.
United Crate approached Solargain to assist in bringing down its operating costs by installing a commercial size solar PV system. The main electricity costs for United Crate come from the washing and processing of the crates once they have come back from a client, so they can be returned to circulation.
Based on United Crate’s electricity consumption data, it was determined that a 100kW system was appropriate for their usage. Solargain was chosen because of our experience in delivering commercial systems for growers, and also because of our AS/NZS ISO 9001:2008 and AS/NZS 4801:2001 certifications.
This was important because the roof the system which was being installed on was brand new, and the company wished to ensure the solar company they chose had standards and systems that ensured the installation did not harm or damage the roof in any way. The client is not only happy with the system performance but also the aesthetic on their new roof giving us feedback that the system “looks great”. Approximate first year savings for United Crate is $30,749.
