Commercial and industrial energy costs are a material operating line for any manufacturer, logistics operator, cold chain facility, or retail group. A correctly engineered C&I solar system does not just reduce that line — it partially converts it from a variable network tariff exposure to a fixed or declining-cost renewable asset. Apex Grid delivers behind-the-meter systems at the scale where the numbers become genuinely significant: 100 kilowatts to five megawatts, with grid-connected or islanding capability depending on your security-of-supply requirements. The technical and commercial complexity at this scale is significant, which is why our process begins with engineering data, not a sales visit.
Feasibility and Financial Structuring
Every C&I engagement starts with a load-matched feasibility study. We pull your NMI interval data, map your demand profile against local irradiance at 30-minute resolution, identify demand charge reduction opportunity, and model the system against your current network tariff including any applicable demand, TOU, and capacity charge components. The output is a full 25-year financial model at P50 and P90 generation scenarios, with sensitivity analysis across retail tariff escalation, network charge trends, and wholesale price assumptions. Your operations and finance teams receive a model they can interrogate, not a one-page payback estimate.
- Owner-funded, PPA, and lease structures available — we engineer the same system regardless of funding path
- Demand charge reduction modelling integrated with battery storage where peak demand events drive the tariff
- Rooftop, carport, and ground-mount array configurations designed to maximise available capacity on constrained sites
- Three-phase commercial inverter specification compliant with AS 4777.2 and AEMO DER Integration Standards
- Large-scale Generation Certificate (LGC) creation and optional GreenPower registration for sustainability reporting
- Integrated energy management system (EMS) for load shifting, demand response, and real-time performance visibility
- CEC accredited design and installation with DNSP export limit applications and protection scheme design managed by Apex Grid
Power Purchase Agreements for Zero-Capex Deployment
For businesses that will not deploy capital on energy infrastructure — whether due to balance sheet constraints, competing capital priorities, or board policy — Apex Grid operates a fully funded PPA model. We own, finance, install, insure, and maintain the solar asset on your roof or land. You purchase the generation output at a contracted rate below your current retail tariff for a term of 10 to 25 years. There is no capital outlay, no maintenance liability, and no technology obsolescence risk — the generation performance guarantee sits with Apex Grid. At contract end, you have the option to purchase the asset at residual value, renegotiate supply terms, or have the installation decommissioned. The PPA rate is fixed or CPI-indexed, providing cost certainty against an otherwise escalating network tariff.
Grid Connection and Regulatory Compliance
Systems above 30kW require a formal distribution network service provider (DNSP) connection application, an AS 4777.2-compliant inverter protection scheme, and in many jurisdictions, an export management system capable of responding to dynamic network export limits in real time. For systems above 1MW, a dedicated HV connection study, protection relay specification, and independent connection assessment are typically required. Apex Grid manages the full connection process: pre-application screening, technical design submission, protection coordination study, test and commissioning report, and registration with the Clean Energy Regulator for LGC creation. We have completed connection applications across all major Australian DNSPs and do not outsource this engineering work.
Ongoing performance is monitored through our operations centre with half-hourly production reconciled against modelled yield at the string and inverter level. Any deviation greater than five percent from P50 modelled generation triggers an automated site inspection workflow, with a technician on-site within 48 hours for faults that cannot be resolved remotely. Your finance team receives a monthly performance report against the contracted generation schedule, giving you a clean audit trail for both energy cost management and ASX or NGER sustainability disclosure requirements. Every LGC created is tracked through the Clean Energy Regulator REC Registry with retirement documentation available on request for corporate renewable energy claims and supply chain reporting under CDP and TCFD frameworks.