Collective rooftop solar PV project

The City of Sydney, one of Australia’s largest local government areas, has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70% below 2006 levels by 2030. This includes a target of 30% of electricity from renewable sources.

A major part of the City meeting its targets is an A$4.3 million project with Solgen Energy installing Yingli Solar 250 W polycrystalline panels on 30 sites, including Sydney Park Pavilion, Paddington and Glebe Town Halls, Town Hall House as well as a range of libraries, community centres, depots and other public facilities. Claimed to be the largest collective building-mounted solar panel program in Australia, it will have a total peak electrical capacity of approximately 1.25 megawatts, reducing annual carbon pollution by up to 2,100 tonnes.

The new program will increase the City’s solar electricity capacity to a peak of 1.35 megawatts, with more than 5,500 solar panels on public buildings across the local area.

"We're delighted to be working with City of Sydney and Yingli Solar on a project that delivers outstanding results from both an environmental and financial perspective. We pride ourselves on design and construction of projects that deliver optimal power output taking account of site and budgetary constraints. Yingli Solar is a perfect fit in meeting these objectives," said David Naismith, Solgen Energy Director.

Key features and benefits of the system include:

• The 30 solar installations will provide approximately 1.25 MWp, which equates to 12.5% of the energy used by the buildings, cutting the release of 2100 tonnes of CO₂ pa and reducing the City’s power bills by $500,000 following the completion of the project in 2015.
• The solar system is ideally placed to meet peak energy demands, which typically occur between 10 am and 4 pm in the City of Sydney. At these times, solar energy technologies will be operating at, or near, capacity. This is also likely to help prevent or delay network infrastructure upgrades, reducing further escalation of network charges and hence electricity bills for the entire community.
• The system accommodates a wide range of buildings and installations, including sports stadiums, swimming pools, town halls, libraries, public transport hubs and community centres.