This supermarket in Willemstad runs refrigeration around the clock — the single largest energy consumer in Caribbean retail. With Curaçao's island grid generating almost all electricity from imported fossil fuels, commercial tariffs reached $0.38/kWh, among the highest in the world. Monthly electricity bills exceeded $14,000.
Refrigeration must never fail: a 2-hour outage can spoil tens of thousands of dollars in inventory. The supermarket needed to slash energy costs while guaranteeing backup power for cold-chain loads — in a hurricane-prone island environment.
Mars Solar engineered a rooftop + carport solar power system with a containerized battery energy storage system. The BESS provides backup for all refrigeration loads and peak-shaves the store's demand charges. The containerized system arrived pre-tested and was installed in 8 days — minimizing business disruption.
| Solar PV Capacity | 250 kW (rooftop + carport arrays) |
|---|---|
| Battery Energy Storage | 500 kWh LFP, containerized |
| Inverters | Hybrid, hurricane-rated mounting |
| System Type | Grid-tied with backup + peak shaving |
| Cold-chain backup | Full refrigeration load, 6+ hours |
| Installation | 8 days, containerized plug-and-play |
The system cut monthly electricity costs by $8,000+ — a 58% reduction. In two years of operation, the store has recorded zero unplanned downtime: the BESS has carried refrigeration through every grid event, including a major storm outage. The EPC contractor reports diagnosing issues remotely through the IoT monitoring platform.
| Monthly savings | $8,000+ |
|---|---|
| Annual savings | $96,000+ |
| Payback period | 18 months |
| Energy cost reduction | 58% |
| Unplanned downtime in 2 years | Zero |
“Mars Solar delivered the full design package in 72 hours, and the containerized BESS arrived pre-tested. Installation took 8 days. Two years of operation, zero unplanned downtime.”
— Sean Louvel, EPC Contractor, Curaçao
What makes a solar system for supermarket loads different is the cold chain: refrigeration runs around the clock, so the array is sized against daytime cooling demand while the LFP battery carries refrigeration through outages. In Curaçao's island grid — where commercial tariffs reached $0.38/kWh and monthly bills exceeded $14,000 — a solar system for supermarket loads paid back in about 18 months. We engineer mounting to hurricane wind loads, and size storage from your overnight refrigeration draw rather than from a rule of thumb.
Free system design and ROI estimate within 24 hours — based on your actual electricity bills.