“… all building owners need to do is give us a call to find out how their rooftop can pay”
The owners of Ullrich Aluminium’s manufacturing facility in the ACT understood that the empty roof space on their building could be used to generate income. The resulting solar power system was the first in Energy Matters ‘pay now, pay later, pay never” initiative in the ACT – also the first solar rooftop leasing arrangement in the nation.
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Project overview
Location
Hume, ACT
System Size
29.61kW
Estimated Annual Production
41 MWh
CO2 Avoided Annually
44 tonnes
Solar Panels
126 x REC 235W
Solar Inverter
3 x SMA 11000 TL
Mounting System
SunLock
Installation Date
April 2011
“We were approached by our tenants, Ullrich Aluminium, to install solar on our building in Hume”, explained building owners Jim and Judy Reed. “Once Energy Matters told us about the benefits of solar and that we would receive $3,000 a year from them, we were happy to rent out our roof space.”
At the time, the ACT’s feed-in tariff was the best in the country for larger installations. The government mandated the rate to be locked in for approved projects for 20 years. In response to the state government’s support of solar, Energy Matters was offering owners the option to lease their roof space in return for an annual income. This helped many of those who do not have the financial means to take advantage of the great government incentives available for a limited time.
The Ullrich Aluminium solar system was expected to produce around 49 megawatt hours a year; the equivalent of powering over eight homes.
The Reeds chose to purchase the system from Energy Matters at a later date; they received the current feed-in-tariff rate at that time.
David Robinson, Regional Manager of Ullrich Aluminium was happy too. “We had no trouble convincing our landlords to go solar; it was just whether they wanted to make a lot of money by owning the system or a bit of money by renting out their roof space. Our staff loves the look of it, and we all get satisfaction from seeing the system performance on our showroom display.”
Energy Matters‘ groundbreaking “pay now, pay later, pay never” commercial solar programme was launched to prominent ACT business owners at Ullrich Aluminium’s Hume site on Tuesday, 17th May. The launch was presided over by Simon Corbell, Minister for the Environment and Sustainability, who lauded the program for its positive impact in “cementing the ACT as the solar capital of Australia”.
“Building owners who have around 300m2 of available roof space are ideal candidates to embrace the ACT advantage”, says Energy Matters’ General Manager of Strategic Projects, David Hershan. “It is easy; all they need to do is give us a call to find out how their rooftop can pay.”
Learn more about solar leases and PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) options
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