A $6.6 million solar farm is to be constructed at Australia’s University of New England (UNE) campus just outside of Armidale in northern central New South Wales.
The clean power station is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2018 and will supply up to half of the University’s electricity requirements.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Annabelle Duncan said the facility would boost the institution’s environmental and financial sustainability and avoid more than 5,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
“That is the equivalent of taking 1000 cars off the road. Electricity will be produced when it is needed the most – during the day. These measures will reduce energy costs and our carbon footprint,” said Professor Duncan.
The Vice-Chancellor said the plant would provide other benefits as well.
“I am also confident that the project has the potential to draw students who would appreciate a ‘green’ campus, and who are interested in hands-on opportunities for research and teaching in renewable energy topics.”
10,000 solar panels will be used for the project, which is being fully funded by the University. Apparently, there will be a second stage to the project; which is expected to incorporate some form of energy storage.
The University of New England is located on several sites in Armidale. The northern campus is five kilometres from Armidale’s CBD in a rural/ bushland setting and occupies 74 hectares of land.
On average, Armidale receives solar irradiation levels of around 4.88 kilowatt hours per square metre per day. There are currently 1,327 solar PV installations in Armidale’s postcode, 2350, totaling 4,612.17 kW – so the University’s solar farm will significantly boost the region’s overall solar capacity.
UNE will join many other Australian universities installing solar power systems, including University of Queensland, University of Wollongong and Melbourne University.
The University of New England was the first Australian university established outside a capital city and boasts more than 100,000 graduates. UNE has a special focus on rural science, agricultural economics, geology, educational administration, linguistics and archaeology. Distance education is also a specialty.
In 2013, UNE’s Future Campus was launched in Parramatta. Uing the latest teleconferencing technology, Future Campus enables students in western Sydney to participate fully in lectures, tutorials and study groups conducted at UNE’s Armidale campus or at other locations around the world.
