Yingli PV panels at Australia Post headquarters

Solar PV manufacturer Yingli Green Energy Australia, known as Yingli Solar, has supplied Australia Post with a 284 kWp solar PV system through provider Photon Energy Australia. The installation of the system at StarTrack House, Australia Post’s NSW headquarters at Strawberry Hills in Sydney, was completed by Photon Energy over three months.

Having identified electricity usage as one of the key contributors towards its carbon footprint, Australia Post looked towards solar PV as a way of improving StarTrack House’s 2.5 Stars NABERS energy rating to 5 Stars in the most cost-effective manner. Andrew Sellick, Australia Post’s head of environmental sustainability, explained, “We’re striving to become leaders in environmental sustainability, driving clean energy and efficiency initiatives across our 1200 facilities, and StarTrack House is a key example of this.”

As there was limited roof space available for the installation of a solar PV system, Photon Energy used a two-pronged strategy to maximise yields. This involved taking an innovative approach to the engineering and design of the system, and using Yingli Solar’s high-efficiency PANDA modules.

“Yingli Solar’s proprietary n-type silicon technology, known as PANDA, is ideal for maximising energy yield, especially for buildings wishing to push the envelope,” said Daman Cole, managing director for Yingli Green Energy in Australia. The technology  provides high energy outputs, especially in low light conditions such as mornings, evenings or cloudy days.

The 1051 Yingli PANDA panels installed on the building have an average cell efficiency of 19%. They are forecast to produce 370 MWh of electricity per annum - enough to reduce the carbon impact of the facility by around 325 tonnes and the electricity costs by over $65,000 each year based on today’s prices.

The initiative supports Australia Post’s long-term ‘Carbon Reduction Strategy’, which aims to achieve a 25% reduction in 2000 level emissions by 2020.