Assess

Combining electricity data, local weather-station feeds and satellite imagery, we help you calculate the optimum solar and battery combination for your site.

Beam Solar Assess Product Image

 

What is a Beam Solar Assessment?

When you run an Assessment on the Beam Solar Platform we use a combination of electricity data from your energy retailer, local weather-station data and satellite imagery to simulate hundreds of solar and battery combinations on an hourly basis for a year.

Our simulations calculates the capital cost, annual savings, emissions reduction and ongoing financial return from each combination, enabling us to find the optimal renewable energy system for your site.

 

 

 

Parameter #1: How much solar could we fit at your site?

One of the first questions we need to answer is how many solar panels we can physically fit on your site and how they could be mounted. It often makes the most economical and environmental sense to build rooftop solar in Australia. However there are many sites without a usable or large enough roof space so the panels will need to be mounted on purpose-built racking. We might also want to maximise your output by tracking the sun or even build carpark or floating solar.

We build a dataset of potential solar configurations that looks something like this:

Field Segment Array Size Tilt Azimuth Array Type
North building roof 1 261 7 28 Rooftop (Flush Mounted)
North building roof 2 220 7 208 Rooftop (Flush Mounted)
South building roof 1 80 7 28 Rooftop (Flush Mounted)
South building roof 2 80 7 208 Rooftop (Flush Mounted)
Ground area 800 0 0 Single Axis Tracing
Main car park 1 145 15 118 Carpark Shade
Main car park 2 145 15 298 Carpark Shade

 

We automate the process wherever possible, using large datasets of buildings and addresses combined with estimation algorithms, or one of our solar engineers maps the site by hand.

 

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Parameter #2: How much power does your site need?

While it sometimes makes financial sense to build the largest solar and battery system possible, often we want to match power generation with power consumption. We collect half-hourly electricity data from your energy retailer (shown in blue) combined with our solar generation estimates (shown in orange), giving us a complete picture of electricity inputs and outputs to your site.
 
 
 

 

Parameter #3: How much will your project cost?

The Beam Solar Platform is not only used for assessing the viability of renewable energy systems but it is also a marketplace and procurement system. The best suppliers in the industry, rigorously vetted by us, submit offers through our platform, giving us a unique window into price movements in the industry. With this combination of public and private pricing data, we are able to make an accurate price estimation for each potential solar system.
 
 
 

 

Parameter #4: How much power will the panels generate?

A key part of determining the optimum size and mounting of your solar arrays is an estimation of their power generation over the course of a year. We use hourly solar irradiance data from nearby weather stations to predict the generation of each panel configuration, taking into account factors such as the size of the panels, the panel type and their orientation to the sun.
 

 

Parameter #5: How much does your electricity cost from the grid?

Electricity costs vary significantly from place to place in Australia, depending on the source of power, distance it needs to travel, economies of scale and many other factors. We use the most recent bill from your site's energy retailer combined with estimates of future rates to build an electricity cost profile like the one below:
 
 

 

 

Putting it all together

We combine all of the available information for your site, as well as our predictions, estimations and calculations, into an assessment report. You can also explore the data from the Beam Solar Platform and even drill down to see what any of our suggested systems will do on any hour of the year.

 

Assess Pricing

We use your energy and bill data, weather-station data and satellite imagery to find the optimal solar system for your site.

Free Recommended for small projects <100 kW
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FREE

Desktop Solar Assessment

Desktop assessment of solar, batteries and PFC.

icon-selfservice Self service through our platform
  • Automated maximum solar size
  • Detailed energy charges and tariffs
  • Predicted Energy Profile or interval data
  • Solar, battery and PFC assessment
  • Online, PDF reports and business case
Premium Recommended for medium projects <1 MW
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$2,000

Desktop Solar Assessment

Structural, electrical and financial assessment.

icon-engineer Completed by a solar engineer
  • Includes everything in Free
  • Bespoke solar layout for roof/ground
  • Multiyear analysis and cashflow projection
  • Up to 10 scenarios modelled
Expert Recommended for large & complex projects
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Request Pricing

Solar Feasibility Assessment

Site electrical inspection and feasibility assessment.

icon-engineer Completed by a solar engineer
  • Includes everything in Free and Premium
  • Connection points, cabling and inverter locations
  • Roof area inspection and report
  • Structural roof assessment and certificate
  • Feasibility report with financial modelling

Assess Pricing

Detailed

$4,000

Financial, electrical and structural assessment. 

Recommended for final investment decision. 


  • Checkmark Site electrical inspection + system design
  • Checkmark Grid connection enquiry (exc. DNSP fees)
  • Checkmark Structural roof assessment
  • Checkmark Detailed solar layout and shading analysis
  • Checkmark 25-year discounted cashflow analysis

Feasibility

Custom

Detailed financial and technical feasibility.

For large battery, off-grid or new build projects.


  • Checkmark Projected energy consumption modelling
  • Checkmark Off-grid, diesel and biogas generator
  • Checkmark Analysis of electrification of thermal loads
  • Checkmark Sensitivity and scenario analysis
  • Checkmark Technical feasibility report