An eight-unit student housing co-operative in the Sydney suburb of Newtown will soon host 30kW of rooftop solar and a 43.2kWh Enphase battery storage system, after the government-backed project was awarded to local installer Solaray Energy.
Bjorn Sturmberg, a solar and storage project manager and postdoctoral researcher at Macquarie University and a member of the student accommodation group Stucco, announced via LinkedIn that the selection of Solaray for the job had concluded a 6 month selection process, carried out in collaboration with the NSW government’s Office of Environment and Heritage.
As we reported here in January, the OEH along with the Sydney City council, agreed back the project, to provide solar and storage in the Stucco affordable student housing complex on Wilson Street in Newtown, a short distance from the University of Sydney.
“We’re stoked by the system we’re getting,” Sturmberg said in his post: “Its smarts, safety & long-term performance are cutting edge and will supply the vast majority of electricity needs of the 40 residents for decades to come!”
Solaray, an accredited supplier and installer of US-based Enphase Energy’s AC battery units, recently installed the world’s first beta version of the Enphase battery system at the family home of its director, Peter Thorne. The first residential installation of the technology is set to take place soon.
According to Sturmberg, the Stucco system, once complete, will include 114 Trina solar panels and 36 of Enphase’s 1.2kWh “AC batteries”. The project is believed to be a first of its kind in Australia.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
