Solar power for the aged-care sector

With Perth’s aged-care industry rapidly growing, energy consultancy Perdaman Advanced Energy (PAE) is helping the sector to become more financially and environmentally sustainable.

“While the aged-care industry as a whole doesn’t have a reputation for being quick to embrace new technology, the move towards large-scale retirement and aged-care village developments means the industry is ripe for using clean energy like solar,” said PAE Managing Director Dominic Da Cruz.

“Aged care is a growth sector in terms of investment and growth, so factors such as energy use become more important in the overall success of facilities.”

Da Cruz said the company had just completed a $700,000 project for Southern Cross Care (SCC), installing solar energy systems across five of its retirement villages in the Perth metropolitan area. Generating approximately 657,940 kWh annually, the 328 kW of solar photovoltaic systems will provide between 19 and 30% of the electricity required by each site, reducing the carbon impact of the sites by 539 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

“We’re now at an interesting time for the clean energy industry because production costs have lowered, making the use of solar much more appealing, especially for growth industries,” said Da Cruz.

“The use of solar means lower power consumption costs, obvious benefits for the environment and greater social responsibility.

“The return on investment has improved significantly in the last few years.”

In addition to the SCC project, PAE has also assisted aged-care provider Bethanie with its electricity supply procurement, identifying steps the organisation can take to reduce its total portfolio electricity costs by over $250,000 annually. The company is additionally working on the development of a microgrid for a series of planned retirement villages, which would ensure lower-cost electricity for residents.

“Our aim is to engage other retirement and aged-care providers — not just in WA but across the country — and provide microgrid and solar energy solutions for as many villages as possible,” said Da Cruz.

PAE Chairman Vikas Rambal said there has “never been a more exciting time” to be involved in the clean-energy and aged-care sectors, “as both industries are experiencing unprecedented growth”.

“We’re confident this is just the beginning of revolutionising retirement villages and ensuring more aged-care operators follow suit by making the change to clean energy,” said Rambal.