Solar smallgoods: Primo 3.2MW array completed as Tibaldi signs EUA for PV

Just as one of Australia’s largest commercial solar installs is completed (above) for one of the nation’s largest smallgoods manufacturers – Primo Foods – new plans to put a 1MW PV system on the roof of Melbourne company Tibaldi Smallgoods have been announced.
The 1MW, $1.4 million solar system for the Clayton family-owned business was locked in this week through an Environmental Upgrade Agreement (EUA) with Monash Council – a sort of long-term low interest loan that is repaid through Council rates, and coordinated through the Sustainable Melbourne Fund.
The solar system, to be installed on Tibaldi’s cold storage and warehouse buildings at its Centre Road headquarters, is expected to save the company around $339,000 on electricity costs a year.
“At Tibaldi we are always looking at innovation and sustainability of our business, so using the amazing amount of roof space on site for a large scale solar system was an easy decision to make,” said Tibaldi CEO, Greg Ridder in comments on Wednesday.
“This will help lower the cost of electricity, provide environmental benefits by reducing the reliance on the grid and also make Tibaldi more competitive,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Queensland, industry stablemate Primo Foods is now boasting an industry-leading 3.2MW on the roof of its processing plant in Wacol, west of Brisbane.
Todae Solar, which installed the massive commercial system in partnership with Primo and CleanPeak Energy, said on Friday that it had completed the project, less than five months after it was announced.
The 9,700-panel system, pictured above, covers around 75 per cent of the 25,000 square metre roof, and is expected to generate around 4,900MWh of energy a year – enough to power 20,000 homes and cut the facility’s grid power consumption by 19 per cent.
As we reported here, that puts it among some of the nation’s biggest commercial rooftop solar projects, including the 3MW system installed at Sydney Markets – which is likely to be expanded further – and the 2.5MW planned for the newly renovated South Australian Produce Market, which is being paired with a 4.2MWh Tesla battery pack.
The investment, for Primo, is aligned with the sustainability targets of parent company JBS Australia – the nation’s  largest meat and food processing company – to cut its grid energy consumption by 12 per cent by 2020.
“This project shows our commitment to carbon emission reduction in Australia,” said JBS CEO Brent Eastwood in comments on Friday.
“We are very focused on reducing our reliance on natural resources, reducing our waste and improving our sustainability as we go forward.
“This facility demonstrates our commitment to working towards our 2020 target. We are very pleased with what Todae Solar has achieved here, this is a very impressive setup and the largest in Australia.”
You can watch a video of the installation below.