Solar Case Study – Bidvest Foodservice

Australia’s leading wholesale food services distributor, Bidvest Foodservice, made a pioneering move in the nation’s food services industry with the launch of Western Australia’s largest privately-owned rooftop solar power system.

The 290kWp solar array covers 30% of the roof of Bidvest’s new 9,000m2 Perth distribution centre.

The installation will generate 360 MWh of electricity annually, more than enough to power the site’s daytime base load in summer and offsetting around 300 tonnes of CO2 per annum.  This is equivalent to taking around 92 cars off the road, or powering a NABERS 4 star office space for more than 520 people.

Using just under 2km of cabling and over 2 tonnes of REC panels, the solar panel systems represents a significant part of Bidvest’s industry-leading environmental achievements. The centre also uses cutting edge cold store technology and LED lighting to reduce its base electricity load.

Due to Western Australia’s grid connect restrictions, Energy Matters installed a ramping solution to ensure the solar array delivers maximum production while limiting the risk of tripping the array in grid export situations.

“As one of the first truly large-scale, privately funded and owned rooftop PV solar systems, we see this as the start of something big for commercial solar in Western Australia and applaud Bidvest for taking the lead,” said Jeremy Rich, CEO of Energy Matters.

Bidvest is ranked among Australia’s top 200 companies and employs more than 2500 people nationwide. Bidvest Australia operates five standalone divisions: Bidvest Foodservice; Bidvest Hospitality, Bidvest Logistics, Bidvest Meat and Bidvest Fresh.