Almost six thousand new solar panels will be switched on at Tonsley Innovation District next week, doubling the site’s green energy output.
Sixty-four thousand kilograms of panels were helicoptered onto the roofline of Renewal SA’s Line Zero building and TAFA SA’s campus back in May as part of an expansion of the Tonsley District Energy Scheme.
The scheme is owned and operated by specialist renewable energy company CleanPeak Energy.
CleanPeak Energy is a company focused on assisting responsible organisations deploy renewable energy to enhance their site, save on electricity, reduce their emissions footprint and lead current thinking in relation to the adoption of technologies for a sustainable future.
The Stage 2 installation – which covers an area around the size of one and a half football fields – significantly adds to the capacity of the existing solar asset laid on top of Tonsley’s Main Assembly Building (MAB) in 2020, which at the time was one of Australia’s largest rooftop-mounted solar arrays.
Combined, the two sets of panels will generate up to 80% of the district’s energy demand, increasing Tonsley’s solar capacity to 5 Megawatts – the equivalent of powering around 300 homes a year.
At project completion there will be 13,000 panels, secured by 10,000 fixings, 34 inverters and over 15,000 metres of electrical cables installed as part of the District Energy Scheme.
At the completion of the solar system and an upcoming battery project, CleanPeak will have invested over $20 Million at Tonsley.
Over the last decade Tonsley Innovation District has become a melting pot of more than 140 businesses.
Around 2,000 people work onsite – almost double the number of jobs at Tonsley when Mitsubishi announced its closure.
There is now more than 1061 trees and 42,513 plants and shrubs growing sitewide across the Tonsley Innovation District including within the MAB forests, along streets, greenways and wetlands.
At present, 500 South Australians call Tonsley home and Tonsley Village is expected to house more than 1,800 residents upon completion.
Quotes
Attributable to Nick Champion
We commend CleanPeak on the success of the installations – a complex operation which involved dozens of local tradespeople.
The switching on of the panels was another quality example of Tonsley’s undisputable commitment to sustainability.
Renewables are the future, and it’s great to see Tonsley Innovation District and CleanPeak Energy pushing to not only create cleaner sources of energy but also providing storage capabilities for the future.
South Australia is making good progress towards its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, which is to reduce the state’s emissions by more than 50% below 2005 levels by 2030, and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Attributable to Philip Graham, Chief Executive CleanPeak Energy
I am delighted to announce the commissioning of Stage 2 of the Tonsley rooftop solar system.
The 5 MW solar project located on the MAB rooftop is one of the largest systems in the country.
Stage 2 of the project was completed over nine months including the design, construction and delivery of the system.
Now that it is operational, it will provide around 80% of the precinct’s overall energy needs annually.
The Tonsley project underpins CleanPeak’s growing investment in South Australia, which includes an upcoming battery fleet servicing multiple commercial sites across the state.
Our strategy is to couple the Tonsley system with a 3.3-Megawatt battery – currently being developed for the site – which will allow storage of excess energy generation. This will ensure the site is on track to reduce its carbon footprint and moves us closer to realising our ambition to power the site from 100% renewable sources.
It’s terrific to partner with Renewal SA to deliver the 5-Megawatt solar system as well as an innovative behind-the-meter battery that will ensure the world class Tonsley Innovation District is powered by clean energy.
Attributable to Karen Roberts Head of Global Customer Enablement ZEISS
As a foundation-owned company acting responsibly is a matter of course for ZEISS, and sustainability is a core part of our business.
To support our ambitious goals, ZEISS sites worldwide are now almost entirely powered by green energy.
The supply of reliable, renewable energy from CleanPeak Energy for our Tonsley operation is therefore an important part of further advancing our sustainability goals.
