Loving what we do has led us to become recognised leaders in solar and energy storage technologies

Our History

Over 30 years of engineering experience in solar and energy storage

AC Solar warehouse was founded in 2011 by Grant Behrendorff and David Smyth, who are both Clean Energy Council accredited electricians with tertiary qualifications in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.  

Grant and David were high school friends who completed their electrical trade apprenticeships together at the Far North Queensland Electricity Board (FNQEB).  After completing their Electrical Fitter and Mechanic trades, they both pursued tertiary qualifications in electrical engineering.

Grant and David started designing and installing grid-tied and off-grid solar and energy storage systems in 1995 when solar modules were over $12 per watt, energy storage was deep-cycle vented lead acid batteries and inverters were at early stages of development.  At the time, solar modules were only typically used on remote telecommunications stations, rarely for off-grid power and not used at all in grid connected applications.  Many of the off-grid systems Grant and David designed and installed were bespoke large-scale systems incorporating a variety of energy sources such as solar PV, solar thermal, wind, micro hydro, gas, energy storage and diesel for various ranger stations, remote communities, remote agricultural properties and islands across Australia and the Pacific.   These applications traditionally relied on electricity from diesel generation, which was costly, noisey, polluting and only available when the diesel generator was operating.   Grant and David designed and installed the first residential grid connected solar system on Ergon Energy’s network and helped develop the first solar network connection standards for the utility.  Surprisingly, this system used thin film solar module technology and was located in Cairns.

Grant went on to develop and manage the Bushlight Energy Project which involved the design and installation of over 120 renewable energy systems for remote indigenous communities across Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Grant led other leading renewable energy projects at the time such as the Desert Knowledge Solar Centre, Uterne Solar Power Station and Alice Springs Airport Solar System.  These significant projects  were cutting-edge at the time, breaking new ground for renewables in Australia.

Grant was the consortium Chairman for the Alice Springs Solar City project which was one of the shining lights of the Australian government's Solar Cities program.  Grant was chairman from inception in 2005 to its conclusion in 2013.  Over the seven-year life of the project Alice Solar city conducted more than 2,700 home energy audits, 225 commercial energy audits and facilitated the installation of more than 900 solar hot water systems and 700 residential PV systems. Alice Solar City also facilitated the installation of 5 iconic PV installations around Alice Springs totalling 4MW in capacity.

On the back of the success of the Bushlight project in Australia, which was awarded the Engineers Australia National Engineering Excellence Award in 2006, Grant developed the Bushlight India project which provided renewable energy solutions to remote communities in India.

For his contribution to the renewable energy industry Grant was awarded Engineers Australia Technologist of the year in 2007 and the highly successful Bushlight India Project was awarded the Engineers Australia Sir William Hudson Engineering Excellence Award in 2011.  The Sir William Hudson Engineering Award is Australia’s highest accolade for an engineering project.

After delivering off-grid and on-grid solar and energy storage systems across Australia and the Pacific David managed the 33 power stations owned and operated by Ergon Energy throughout Queensland.  David developed the first strategy to transition these power stations from fossil fuels to renewables and developed a variety of renewable energy projects and energy efficiency projects to commence the transition while maintaining reliable power supply and managing government and other stakeholders’ requirements. eg Birdsville Geothermal Project, Windorah Concentrated PV Project, and various solar and wind projects.

In 2007, David established Evolve Energy, an engineering consultancy firm to help progress energy efficiency and renewable energy generation uptake.  David was joined by Grant very soon after and the pair worked with governments, utilities and manufacturers of solar and energy storage technology around the world to develop products suitable for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.  David and Grant were awarded an Eco-innovation award for their work on innovative utility solar applications at the Tropical Innovations Awards in 2010 as part of the Townsville Solar Cities Project.   

Through their work over the years, Grant and David have met many people around the world with a like-minded passion for transitioning to renewable energy technologies.  As Australian Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Grant and David have assisted various manufacturers design products to suit the market in Australia and New Zealand while also introducing local solar installers to new technologies being used in larger markets such as the United States and Europe.  Assisting manufacturers and local installers led to the foundation of AC Solar Warehouse to increase the use of high quality solar and energy storage technologies in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

AC Solar Warehouse is increasing the uptake of these technologies by:

• Assisting solar and energy storage manufacturers around the world to design technologies to meet Australian and New Zealand harsh environmental conditions, AS/NZS design standards, and electricity distribution utilities requirements.
• Bringing the world’s leading technologies to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific through cost-effective and efficient distribution services, supported by strategically located warehouses across Australia and New Zealand.
• Manufacturing specialist products to simplify solar and storage installations such as prewired residential and commercials switchboards, inverter marshalling boards, backup boards, isolator enclosures, gateways, generator changeover switches and earth leakage test kits; and 
• Providing solar installers with professional engineering services for large scale commercial solar and energy storage systems.

AC Solar Warehouse distributes the world’s leading solar and energy storage products throughout Australia and New Zealand with a highly professional team of experts to help solar installers build and grow sustainable businesses.  The result being high quality solar and energy storage installations for homeowners and businesses efficiently installed by trusted accredited installers.

The team at AC Solar Warehouse work closely with some of the best solar and energy storage installers in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.