The Townsville solar power scene has received a boost with the local branch of Tip Top becoming a solar energy pilot project for the Australian-based bakery.
The Garbutt plant has recently installed a solar PV system that is enabling it to reduce its electricity loads and reliance on the grid.
The project was driven by Tip Top’s northern Queensland operations management. Assessment of the site was done by Carbon Friendly Enterprises (CFE), energy consultants based in Queensland’s Mount Pleasant region.
Solar improves energy efficiency for the Townsville bakery
According to CFE, the bakery plant already had a number of energy efficiency measures in place. Installing solar PV panels has however helped it to boost its capacity for electricity load reduction.
The 97 kW system has also been designed for future solar battery storage upgrade if required. In addition, the system has enabled the bakery plant to reduce its electricity load levels by 20 percent.
While CFE said the plant could easily have benefited from a larger solar power system, roof space and shading prevented this from happening.
Tip Top has now requested CFE to assess its other sites for energy efficiency measures and solar power installations.
About Tip Top and CFE
Tip Top is Australia’s largest and most well-known brand of bakery products. The company is part of George Weston Foods, which is in turn owned by Associated British Foods.
Carbon Friendly Enterprises is a 100 percent Australian-owned energy management company based in Queensland, made up of a team of renewable energy specialists.
While it started in residential, the company has since shifted its focus towards industrial and commercial solar power projects.
The company conducts energy audits of businesses and offers tailored solutions to enable them to improve their energy efficiency. The solutions usually involve a range of measures, with solar power often also being part of the mix.
CFE’s approach to energy management includes conducting thorough audits and feasibility studies to ensure the right balance of energy measures is arrived at.
Townsville solar power
As of December, 2017, here were 1357 solar PV installations in Townsville’s postcode, 4810, totaling 5996.32 kW of capacity. The 4810 postcode accounted for 0.089% of all the solar installations in Australia.
The average system size in Townsville was 4.42kW and the Australian average is 3.15kW.
System owners in Townsville’s postcode area were generating an average of 34359 kWh daily, saving them collectively approximately $309230 monthly and $3762301 annually**. The electricity produced by arrays in the 4810 postcode in December, 2017 was enough to fully power 1666 Australian homes.
