Every house in Canberra’s newest suburb will have solar panels installed – and more than just a token amount of capacity.
Denman Prospect will be Australia’s first suburb to have a minimum requirement for installation of solar power systems on all residences; with each house to have a minimum 3kW system.
The developers say these systems will each generate approximately 4,146kW of clean electricity annually; avoiding emissions of approximately 3.7 tonnes a year.
“By encouraging best building practices and creating environmentally friendly homes, Denman will become a leading suburb in sustainability,” says the company behind the development, Capital Estate Developments.
“The landscaping and urban design will make it easy to conserve water and energy.”
Situated approximately 10 minutes drive from Canberra’s CBD, around 4,200 homes are expected to be constructed at Denman Prospect in three stages. Capital Estate Development will be developing and release the first stage of Denman Prospect; approximately 2,000 dwellings.
Of the dwellings across Stages 1A and 1B, a minimum of 20% will be affordable housing – including 72 public housing dwellings. The first public auction of land for the first stage will be held this Saturday.
ACT’s Land Development Agency (LDA) is currently working on designs and approvals for Denman Prospect Stages 2 and 3. It is anticipated that the first releases of these stages will be in 2017.
Canberra’s passion for solar and renewables only seems to be growing stronger. In August, the ACT set a goal of 100% renewable energy by 2025.
Also in August, it was announced Canberra Hospital would be going solar, with a 500kW system to be installed. In June, the Territory’s government said the light rail system linking Canberra’s Civic to Gungahlin in the north will be powered by 100% renewable energy.
According to recent data from Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator, there are approximately 15,933 small scale solar panel systems in the ACT.
The ACT is also home to one of Australia’s few large-scale solar power stations. The 24MW Royalla Solar Farm is located just south of Tuggeranong and generates enough electricity to supply around 4,500 Canberra homes.
