Undersize the trailer and your camp suffers an outage overnight or after two cloudy days. Oversize it and you tie up capital in panels and batteries you rarely use. Either mistake costs you money and reliability.
Trailer Power Designed as Part of a Hybrid System
USP&E supplies and supports mobile solar, battery and generator systems for remote camps, mines and construction sites, and sizes them as one hybrid plant rather than separate boxes. USP&E brings 150+ power projects in 45+ countries and 25,000 MW contracted since 2002, and our engineers and project managers can size your trailers, pair them with the right firming and keep them running in the field. We work under ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certified systems with FCPA and OFAC controls. USP&E is a full-service EPC and O&M contractor, not a broker.
Start With Your Daily Energy Use
Size your solar trailer from energy, not peak power. List every load you run with its power and hours of use, then add them up to get kWh per day. A small security camera mast might need only a few kWh; a site office or camp block with air-conditioning can need many times that. Peak power matters for the inverter, but energy decides the array and battery.
Separate day and night loads. Daytime loads can run straight from the array, while night loads must come from the battery. That split often matters more than the total, because battery capacity is the expensive part of a solar trailer.
Battery Runtime and Autonomy
Battery runtime depends on usable capacity and your night load. Divide usable kWh by the average night load in kW to get hours of runtime, then decide how many days of autonomy you need for cloudy weather. Usable capacity is less than nameplate, depending on chemistry and depth-of-discharge limits; lithium iron phosphate batteries usually allow deeper use than lead-acid.
Temperature affects runtime too. Heat shortens battery life and cold reduces capacity, so ventilation, shading and battery management matter on remote sites. Plan autonomy around the worst season, not the average day.
| Sizing step | What to calculate | Typical pitfall |
|---|---|---|
| Daily energy | kWh per day from all loads | Using peak kW instead |
| Night share | kWh needed after sunset | Ignoring night load split |
| Battery | Usable kWh for runtime and autonomy | Using nameplate capacity |
| Array | kWh per day at worst-season sun | Sizing for summer |
| Firming | Generator size for gaps | No backup for cloud |
Hybrid Firming for Nights and Cloud
Most remote camps pair solar trailers with a generator that starts automatically when the battery runs low. The generator then runs at an efficient load to recharge the battery and carry the site, instead of idling all night. This hybrid approach typically cuts generator running hours and fuel use sharply while keeping power reliable.
Size the generator to carry the full load plus battery charging, and set the controller to start and stop it at sensible battery levels. Compare options for hybrid power systems that combine trailers, batteries and generators under one controller.
Scaling Up From Trailers to a Camp Hybrid Plant
Large camps and mine sites can outgrow trailers. At that point, a fixed hybrid plant with solar, storage and natural gas engines/stations or diesel units may make more sense. For bigger loads, used/new gas turbines and gas turbine generators, including a remanufactured GE Frame 6B, can provide firm base power. In the US, the New USP&E FX-45 45MW Modular Gas Turbine for the Hyperscale Data Center sector in the USA offers 2028–2030 slots for hyperscale campuses, and USP&E delivers hyperscale EPC/O&M for AI gas turbines, hyperscale generators and gas turbines for compute.
For mining-town and community power, see this independent guide to mining-town hybrid power in Africa. This site’s guide to trailer PV for mining camps covers camp layouts. Learn more about solar-battery hybrid systems from USP&E.
USP&E Offices Serving Solar Trailer Hybrid Buyers
You should not have to explain your load profile three times. For your solar trailer and GT hybrid, USP&E links one accountable team across its offices, starting in the US: Colorado Springs (1755 Telstar Dr, Suite 300) and Knoxville (800 S Gay St, Suite 700) for US-side engineering, site walks and equipment follow-up.
London (162-168 Regent Street) sets up commercial structure and finance, Johannesburg (22 Kildoon Rd, Bryanston) leads design, project controls and quality for solar trailers, hybrid controllers and GT firming packages, Cape Town (31 Brickfield Road, Woodstock) adds engineering depth, and Wuxi, China (No. 1, Ningzhou Road, Wuxi) expedites switchgear, transformers and balance-of-plant from Chinese manufacturers.
For camp and site buyers, Johannesburg and Cape Town teams size and deploy trailers across Africa, while US offices support North American sites and Wuxi expedites batteries and inverters. Regions served: USA | AFRICA | UK | UAE | CHINA. With 25,000 MW contracted since 2002 across 150+ power projects in 45+ countries, USP&E is ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certified.
Where USP&E Has Delivered Before
These approved projects show USP&E delivering dependable power in remote conditions where hybrid systems now help cut fuel.
- USP&E has refurbished seven GE Frame 6B gas turbines to zero hours in-house for major US hyperscale data-centre developers.
- NEOM, Saudi Arabia: USP&E supplied zero-hour Siemens SGT-400 gas turbines and acted as the single technical and commercial interface. Read the case study.
- Resolute Mining, Syama, Mali: USP&E supplied, installed and operated a Caterpillar power station for the process plant and process water. Read the case study.
How to Size a Mobile Solar Trailer
Your 3-step plan: 1. Share your loads and site location. 2. Get array, battery and firming sizes. 3. Deploy, monitor and adjust.
- List each load with its power and daily hours of use.
- Split daily energy into daytime and night-time use.
- Size usable battery capacity for night load and cloudy days.
- Size the array for worst-season sunshine.
- Add a generator with automatic start for firming.
FAQ: Mobile Solar Trailers
Which USP&E offices support mobile solar trailer projects?
USP&E supports mobile solar trailer projects from Johannesburg and Cape Town, where teams size and deploy systems across Africa, with Colorado Springs and Knoxville supporting North American sites. London handles contracts and finance, and Wuxi expedites batteries, inverters and PV modules made in China.
Has USP&E delivered power for remote camps before?
Yes, USP&E has delivered 150+ power projects in 45+ countries, with 25,000 MW contracted since 2002, including power for remote mines and camps. The approved examples in the track record above show the conditions our hybrid and trailer systems are designed to handle.
Is USP&E a solar trailer broker?
No, USP&E is a full-service EPC and O&M contractor, not a broker. We size, supply, deploy and support solar trailers and the generators that firm them, so one accountable team stands behind how your camp’s power performs day and night.
How quickly can USP&E respond to a solar trailer enquiry?
USP&E replies within one working day. Send your list of loads, hours of use, site location and how long you need power, and we will propose trailer, battery and firming sizes with a clear view of fuel savings and expected runtime.
How long can a solar trailer run at night?
USP&E calculates night runtime by dividing usable battery capacity by your average night load. Usable capacity is less than nameplate and depends on chemistry and temperature. For reliable power, size for the worst season and add generator firming for cloudy periods.
How big a solar trailer do I need?
USP&E sizes trailers from your daily energy use in kWh, split between day and night, rather than peak power. The night share sets the battery size and the total sets the array. A short load list with hours of use is enough for a first estimate.
Can a solar trailer replace a diesel generator?
USP&E finds solar trailers can replace a generator for small, steady loads with enough battery autonomy. For larger or critical loads, pairing trailers with a generator that starts automatically gives reliable power while sharply reducing running hours and fuel use.
What maintenance does a solar trailer need?
USP&E recommends regular panel cleaning, battery and inverter checks, inspection of cables and the folding mechanism, and remote monitoring of state of charge. In dusty or hot sites, cleaning and battery ventilation matter most for keeping output and battery life high.
Power Your Camp With Less Fuel
With properly sized trailers and firming, your camp runs quietly through the night and burns far less fuel. Without proper sizing, you run out of power or overspend on batteries. Let USP&E size it with you.
Talk to an engineer through the USP&E contact page, on +27 10 822 2324 or at info@uspeglobal.com. You can also search the USP&E inventory for equipment that fits.
Powering Possibility. Built for the Frontier.