No task too tough, Epho to airlift solar panels onto Woolworths headquarters
Woolworths is looking to further reduce its emissions by installing a 572 kW solar system atop its massive
Norwest Support Office in Bella Vista. However, the unique circumstances of the facility mean that solar developer Epho Commercial Solar is going to airlift the panels and system components onto the rooftop with a helicopter.
Epho Commercial Solar is on a roll, be it the recent success of its first Bright Thinkers Power Station, a 1.7 MW install at Goodman’s Oakdale Park in Western Sydney, or the even more recent announcement that the company had signed on the design and construct a 1.3 MW community solar farm in the Majura Valley. [2][3]
Now, Epho has been picked off the shelf by Woolwoths to convert 3,000 sqm of rooftop into an urban solar farm at its Norwest Support Office in Bella Vista, New South Wales (NSW). The Woolworths headquarters is one of Australia’s most forward thinking office spaces, housing over 3,000 staff and servicing them with the likes of cafés and a gym.
To help electrify this facility, and help Woolworths’ journey toward reducing its emissions and increasing its sustainable energy portfolio, Epho is going to install a 572 kW, 1,400 panel, solar system.
Woolworths is not shy of green practices of late. In June 2020, a Woolworths branch in Orange, NSW, made an Australian first when a 100 kW solar array was installed on its rooftop in the shape of the supermarket’s logo. Moreover, Woolworths was also the world’s first retailer to issue green bonds to fund the development of low-carbon supermarkets through measures such as the installation of solar systems like that at Orange. [4][5]
“We are very pleased to be working with Woolworths, one of Australia’s largest companies on the conversion of their Norwest Support Office to solar energy,”said Epho’s Managing Director, Dr Oliver Hartley. “This project reflects Epho’s expertise in delivering complex large scale projects and will make a real difference towards a sustainable future for Australia.“
Get to the Chopper!
Unfortunately, due to the uniquely busy nature of the Norwest Support Office, there is little space for crane access and solar panel storage. However, Epho is not deterred, the solar developer is going to employ the use of a helicopter to lift the solar panels and all the main components on the system. “Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.”
This may not sound like the most emissions-conscious solution, however, when it comes to the conversion of facilities to sustainable energy, and indeed the wider energy transition, the imperative is action, the solar will save those emissions in the future.
References
- ^ Posts by Blake Matich (www.pv-magazine-australia.com)
- ^ Bright Thinkers Power Station (www.pv-magazine-australia.com)
- ^ 1.3 MW community solar farm in the Majura Valley. (www.pv-magazine-australia.com)
- ^ shape of the supermarket’s logo (www.pv-magazine-australia.com)
- ^ world’s first retailer to issue green bonds (www.pv-magazine-australia.com)