Australian car park to host thousands of solar panels

From pv magazine Australia

From spring 2021, the roof of the Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne will be shaded by a 1.6 MW solar system.

The solar installation will help to power the enormous shopping mall, which claims to be the largest in the southern hemisphere, Vicinity Centres Chief Development Officer Carolyn Viney said. The solar program is part of a AUD 685 million (US$510 million) car park upgrade.

Vicinity Centres has set a net zero emissions target by 2030 and has invested AUD 73 million in solar across its locations in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. Its Chadstone mall will become the 21st site in the company’s portfolio to install a renewable energy system as part its sustainability plan.

“As technology advances so does the business case for solar,” said Vicinity Centres Executive General Manager Shopping Centre Management Justin Mills. “We’re committed to energy leadership targeting renewable energy, combined with battery and other storage technology and creating efficiencies across our portfolio, as part of Vicinity’s Integrated Energy Strategy.

“This investment will generate clean power for our centres for the long term, make a positive environmental impact and deliver shared value for our customers, retailers and investors,” Mills said.