Australia Post pushes the envelope

Yingli Solar has supplied Australia Post with a 284 kWp solar PV system through Photon Energy, a solar PV system solution provider.

The installation of the solar PV system at StarTrack House, Australia Post’s NSW headquarters at Strawberry Hills in Sydney, was completed by Photon Energy over three months.

The 1051 solar panels at Australia Post are forecast to produce 370 MWh of electricity per annum - enough electricity to reduce the carbon impact of the facility by around 325 tonnes and the electricity costs by over $65,000 each year based on today’s prices.

As there was limited roof space available for the installation of a solar PV system, Photon Energy used a two-pronged strategy to maximise yields. This involved taking an innovative approach to the engineering and design of the system, and using Yingli Solar’s Panda modules. Panda’s n-type silicon technology provides high energy outputs especially in low light conditions such as mornings, evenings or cloudy days.

Solar power is important for businesses like Australia Post that are looking to reduce their reliance on grid electricity and to minimise their carbon footprint, said Daman Cole, managing director for Yingli Green Energy in Australia.

Australia Post’s head of environmental sustainability, Andrew Sellick, said, “We’re striving to become leaders in environmental sustainability, driving clean energy and efficiency initiatives across our 1200 facilities and StarTrack House is a key example of this.” Australia Post aims to reduce its emissions by 25% by 2020, and improve its NABERS energy rating to 5 Stars from 2.5 Stars.

Michael Gartner, co-founder and managing director of Photon Energy Australia, said, “Solar power has become a have-to-have because it not only achieves energy efficiency targets but also reduces facility energy costs. Solar PV is now an integral part of the energy mix and Photon Energy prides itself in providing the maximum benefits of solar for its customers over the whole life cycle.”