Notes from the shop

Learn

Long-form notes from The Off Grid Shop. Winter design days, rain weeks, SA commercial rebate maths, and the hardware those facts imply.

Updated September 2026
On the desk

Current pieces

17 Sep 2026

WA gold, engines off

Bellevue Gold ran four days with the diesel and gas engines switched off. Hybrid plant, two-hour battery, high-80% quarterly renewables.

Read the Bellevue engines-off note

17 Sep 2026

Marlinja microgrid

A remote NT community built its own solar and battery and cut power bills by about 70%. Grid still there when the pack is empty.

Read the Marlinja microgrid note

17 Sep 2026

Wilandra solar irrigation

A Gippsland dairy irrigated 22 hectares on about 95% solar, using a dam instead of a big battery.

Read the Wilandra irrigation note

17 Sep 2026

SA commercial battery rebate examples

Design examples — not named customer case studies — for a cold store, workshop, irrigation shed and mining-adjacent depot. How the seventy-five thousand dollar ABN cap actually works.

Read the SA rebate examples

17 Sep 2026

Why commercial batteries can make sense in SA

Peak tariffs, fire-day backup, honest rebate stacking, and diesel hours. For Adelaide Hills, regional SA, and mining-adjacent businesses.

Read the SA educator note

17 Sep 2026

Dalby AI park, off-grid sizing

What it would take to run Dalby's AI park mostly on sun and batteries. A phase-slice thought piece for the Western Downs — not Toowoomba.

Read the Dalby sizing note

Buyer's guide

Electric UTVs in Australia

Voltage, solar charging with real numbers, onboard 240V, and AU-available machines for an off-grid or hybrid block.

Read the UTV guide

Your own load

Want a system sized that way?

If you want a plant sized for June and the rain week — home, farm, or commercial — talk to The Off Grid Shop.

Start a custom design

Prefer to talk it through? Call or text 0483 927 257 — Lismore HQ, local voices.

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