Australian property fund manager ISPT has launched the second phase of plans to install solar across 50 of its commercial and retail property rooftops, with 13,000 PV panels set to be rolled out across 12 sites in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.
The $11.6 million round of installations, which kicked off on Monday, is expected to generate 5,352,900kWh of electricity a year and save ISPT customers and tenants a combined total of $1.5 million a year.
It follows the success of the first round of installations – a $1.2 million effort that installed around 3,000 panels across 13 properties and has since surpassed benchmark targets on electricity production by 12 per cent.
For ISPT, the program has allowed it to on-sell cheaper energy to its customers, while also providing base building power to the 22 properties that have so far been fitted with solar PV.
Overall, both stages of the national program are estimated to generate $30 million in cost savings over their lifetime, the company says.
“Stage one of our project has already exceeded expectations by producing an impressive 1,361MWh of electricity, which is the equivalent power usage of 168 homes,” said Alicia Maynard, ISPT’s general manager of sustainability and technical services.
“We’re confident that stage two will continue to up the ante, and deliver for our customers and the environment alike.”
Maynard said ISPT’s National Solar PV project was using the “world’s best, most efficient” technology to provide a secure long-term energy solution.
“Solar can easily be retrofitted to most existing buildings, in most locations, and has the potential to create meaningful outcomes for both our customers and the environment so for us, it is a logical choice,” she said.
“With the continued rise of grid energy costs, we’re able to provide our customers with a secure price, which is particularly beneficial to those based in regional locations.”
The company says investigations are underway into stage 3 of the program, with a focus on industrial-scale installations, potentially coupled with battery storage.
Stage 4 would focus on “driving future revenue generation opportunities through renewables,” ISPT said.
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.
