Stockland powers up in New South Wales with significant solar retail roll out
Stockland is continuing to roll out the country’s largest property solar project, with its investment set to total $10 million across its NSW shopping centres in Western Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra.
Once complete, more than 17,000 solar panels will be installed on the rooftops of five Stockland shopping centres statewide, spanning Merrylands and Wetherill Park in Western Sydney to Maitland, Shellharbour and Nowra in the regions.
Combined, these installations will generate enough energy to power more than 1,305 homes each day for a year.1
NSW Minister for Resources & Energy, The Hon. Don Harwin MLC, joined Stockland Group Executive & CEO Commercial Property, John Schroder, at Stockland Wetherill Park today to inspect the largest rooftop solar project in Western Sydney.
John Schroder, Stockland Group Executive and CEO of Commercial Property, said: “Our Wetherill Park solar system has already generated 1.379 million kilowatt hours of energy since it was installed last summer.
“That’s around a quarter of the centre’s annual base building power and enough to power 223 homes every day.”
“Investing in technology like solar is not just good for the environment, it also makes good business sense. Several studies across the globe have demonstrated that green retail town centres are cheaper to operate and can result in increased customer spending.”2
Stockland is the most significant investor in rooftop solar in the country, with a $23.5 million national investment – Australia’s largest ever property solar project, announced last year.3
Once complete, the project is expected to produce 17.2 GWh of energy every year, the equivalent to driving an electric car around the world 2,381 times.
Paul Peters, Verdia CEO, said: “As Stockland’s delivery partner, our value is in accelerating and de-risking the program to generate savings as soon as possible. In just 12 months, we will install more than 10MW of solar PV across Stockland centres in three states.”
John Schroder continues, “We’re extremely proud to be setting a new standard in solar for retail and for NSW, helping create sustainable energy for our retailers, our customers and the communities we operate in.
"We believe in solar as a major part of the mix for Australia’s future energy needs and that our investment is an important step within the large scale commercial property arena.”
Stockland owns and manages the most Green Star (Design & As Built) rated shopping centres in Australia, and already has more solar panels installed across its assets than any diversified property company listed in Australia.
1. Includes existing and future panel installations, which combined are expected to generate 7.725 million kwh of energy each year.
2. https://new.gbca.org.au/green-star/why-use-green-star/green-star-retail-business-case/
3. Stockland’s solar installations at Stockland Green Hills and Stockland Merrylands form part of this national investment roll out
NSW Minister for Resources & Energy, The Hon. Don Harwin MLC, joined Stockland Group Executive & CEO Commercial Property, John Schroder, and Verdia CEO, Paul Peters, at Stockland Wetherill Park inspecting the largest rooftop solar project in Western Sydney.