National solar provider Energy Matters has been selected as a finalist in the CEC’s 2014 Solar Design and Installation Awards in the grid-connect over 100kW capacity category.
Energy Matters was nominated for a unique installation the company performed on the Sustainable Building Research Centre (SBRC) at the University of Wollongong. The 150kW system consists of a 120kW array of solar panels on the office roof and a 30kW array on the north facing awning.
Given the nature of the building, the system pushed the boundaries of solar energy system design.
As a result of the installation and various other building design elements, the SBRC is aiming to become the first Australian building to be certified under the Living Building Challenge Program. The program is described as “a building certification program, advocacy tool and philosophy that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today.”
Winners of the 2014 Solar Design and Installation Awards will be announced at the ATRAA Dinner on Thursday 24th July 2014 at the Waterview in Bicentennial Park, Sydney. ATRAA is Australia’s largest solar event and part of Clean Energy Week; Australia’s biggest event for the renewable energy and energy efficiency industry.
Energy Matters has executed numerous commercial solar projects; including Australia’s largest privately funded rooftop solar power system and late last year, Western Australia’s largest. A selection from Energy Matters’ commercial project portfolio can be viewed here.
As well as the environmental and other corporate social responsibility related benefits Energy Matters’ commercial customers enjoy through going solar; there is an increasingly compelling financial case.
If a company is paying more than 20c/kWh for daytime electricity usage, Energy Matters states a system sized to daytime load can provide a payback time of just a few years – after which, the electricity generated is essentially free.
