Australia: Queensland government chooses solar technology from Conergy

Conergy Australia is equipping one of the largest solar plants in the state of Queensland with solar components from its own manufacture. The beacon project, with a capacity of some 400 kilowatts, will involve solar modules mounted on the carport as well as on the roof of the emergency contact centre in Zillmere, some 14 kilometres north of Brisbane. The “Dandiiri Contact Center” receives all emergency calls from the police, ambulances and the fire service – in the future supported by the energy of the sun. 

With this solar plant, Conergy will convert the government building into one of the most sustainable office blocks of the entire continent. In recognition of its positive life cycle analysis (LCA) results, the building received six stars in the co-called “Green Star Rating”, which gives awards to particularly ecological building projects. In the whole of Australia, only handful of buildings has achieved this top rating. With 92 of a possible 100 points, the Dandiiri Center not only received the highest number of points amongst the office buildings at the time of certification but the highest award level of “world leading green building design” as well.

With its contact centre, the Queensland government wants to prove that the highest claims in terms of ecology and sustainability are compatible with economic interests. For this reason, the building relies both on green design and on quality and durability. “Sustainability is also increasingly gaining in importance in politics and within the commercial business sector,” says Rodger Meads, President of Conergy Australia. “Ecology, design and practical benefit all play a part in this. With the Conergy PowerPlus equipped carport, we will be using the enormous energy of the sun in the region. With around 300 days of sunshine per year, the sun will enable the modules to produce excellent output – while the plant will simultaneously provide welcome shade at top temperatures of up to 36 °C.”

For this combination, the local and state government has chosen to rely on Conergy quality. Nearly 1,300 Conergy PowerPlus modules on Conergy Suntop III mounting systems on top of the carport will generate clean solar power, with a further 500 Conergy modules in operation on the roof of the building. Overall, the flagship power plant will produce over 600,000 kilowatt hours per year, – equivalent to that of the power consumption of estimated 90 private households. In the process, the plant will prevent the emission of 600 tons of CO2 a year.

“We are very proud to have been involved in this award-winning showpiece project,” says Rodger Meads from Conergy Australia. “The car park is the largest Conergy PowerPlus plant of the country. The government is very clearly going for quality here – because that is the only way to ensure that the plant will still produce continuing high yields in 20 years. That will pay off – and it illustrates how solar energy can combine cost-efficiency, environmental protection, architecture and practical benefit.”

Government decision-makers in Queensland, Sydney and Manly go for Conergy
Not only the Queensland government is putting its trust in Conergy. The solar energy company has already equipped Sydney Water Corporation with a solar plant as well, and a solar energy plant is currently being installed on the roof of the Manly town hall in the state of NSW. And the Brisbane Lion’s Club has installed solar energy as the first AFL club on the continent in collaboration with Conergy. They will have 240 Conergy PowerPlus modules producing some 80 megawatt hours of clean solar energy per year.

With this decision, the Brisbane Lion’s Club house located in Springwood QLD is following the current trend. Until recently, smaller rooftop plants under 30 kilowatts dominated the solar energy landscape “down under”. In order for the climate targets set by the government to be fulfilled, which envisage around 20% of the total energy demand to be covered from renewable sources by 2020, experts expect an above-average annual growth of around 30% in Australia over the coming years, increasingly involving larger plants as well – such as the pioneering project of the Dandiiri Contact Centre located at Zillmere Queensland.