Spatial Engineering and VPP Readiness – Optimising a Multi-tenant Site (Part 2)
Following our breakdown of the embedded network strategy in Part 1, we are stepping inside the live inverter station at our Charlestown site. When dealing with a commercial facility, space is often at a premium, making the physical design of your infrastructure just as critical as the financial model. Discover how Next Green Group custom-engineered this inverter station to fit entirely within the footprint of a single parking space, while fully supporting future battery and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) integration.
Key Insights
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Complex Architecture
Connecting solar generation, battery storage, and child meters across two separate switchboards and four inverters in one space.
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Spatial Design
Custom engineering neat, accessible layouts within limited space to ensure easy ongoing maintenance
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Future Provisions
How to integrate future battery connection points, allocating dedicated physical space for future VPP controllers and security hardware
Mastering Spatial Engineering
When integrating multiple energy systems on a commercial multi-tenant site, physical space is often highly constrained. Custom designing within these tight, limited spaces requires meticulous planning to ensure the infrastructure remains both safe and accessible.
By carefully mapping out cable paths, such as top-entry DC cables and side-entry AC cables into the PVDB switchboard, we maintain a clean and generous layout. This highly intentional spatial design ensures our teams can comfortably access and maintain the inverters without operational friction.
Designing for Future Integration
A successful commercial energy transition means building infrastructure that is ready for what comes next. Rather than facing spatial roadblocks later, we build in flexibility from the start.
By pre-installing battery connection points and reserving dedicated unistrut space for VPP controllers, we ensure the site is commercially ready to optimise assets against the wholesale spot market.
This forward-thinking approach allows facilities to adopt new technologies seamlessly without having to figure out how and where to fit additional hardware into an already crowded space. When unforeseen upgrade costs threaten a project’s ROI and bankability, renewable energy initiatives often stall or get cancelled altogether. We engineer these spaces to eliminate that financial risk from day one.
Watch Next
Watch Part 1 to understand the commercial structure of this site, or the next videos for more optimisation insights.
Optimising a Multi-tenant Site with Solar & Battery (Part 1)
Optimising a Multi-Tenant Site (Part 3): Switchboard Conversion & Future-Proofing
Optimising a Multi-Tenant Site (Part 4): Maximising Solar Carport Site Footprint
Optimising a Multi-tenant Site (Part 5): BESS Integration and the Revenue Loop
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What is the 30in30 initiative?
This video is part of Next Green Group’s 30in30 initiative. We’ve committed to deploying 30 Megawatt-hours of behind-the-meter commercial & industrial (C&I) battery storage across Australia over the next 30 months. We’re opening our internal playbooks to show C&I leaders the engineering and financial reality, empowering them to navigate the energy transition confidently.
Next Green Group is a vertically integrated energy solutions provider delivering complete asset lifecycle management. With 14 years of industry experience and more than 15,000 energy projects delivered, we bridge the gap between behind-the-meter energy infrastructure and front-of-meter wholesale market dynamics through our retail energy arm, Next Business Energy. We engineer, construct, and provide ongoing operations and maintenance for commercial energy assets to strict ISO & Australian standards. Backed by global powerhouse Sojitz Corporation, we combine this technical execution expertise with structured financing solutions to remove capital barriers and ensure long-term commercial performance.