Mazenod College has commissioned a new 270kW solar photovoltaic (PV)
installation at its campus in Mulgrave, Victoria to meet part of its energy
requirements.
Australia’s largest rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installation for a
college, the solar PV project is being led by Mazenod College’s appointed
installation partner, Enervest who will supply a range of SolarMax grid
connected inverters comprising of six 15MT2, six 10MT2, eight 13MT2, two 3000P
and one 4000P units as well as one MaxMeteo with over 1,000 ReneSola Virtus II
PID-Free PV panels.
Expected to generate an average of 330MWh of solar power annually, the
solar PV system will meet close to 50 percent of the College’s energy
requirements resulting in significant annual savings for Mazenod College and
reducing its reliance on grid electricity. The system is projected to reduce
the College’s carbon emissions by 455 tonne every year and deliver an internal
rate of return (IRR) of up to 28 percent per annum.
Mazenod College Principal Fr Michael Twigg OMI explains that the institution
decided to invest in solar power to meet their commitment to reduce their carbon
footprint for the benefit of future generations. The College also plans to raise
social awareness amongst students and spread the word to the wider community about
contributing to living a more sustainable lifestyle.
Mazenod College will be working with Enervest, ReneSola Australia and
SolarMax on the project. Fr Twigg hopes the project inspires other education
institutions to make the switch to solar for a clean energy future.
To help students at Mazenod College learn about how solar power
contributes to their energy consumption, Enervest will utilise
SolarMax’s remote monitoring platform, which includes MaxMeteo, a solar
irradiation sensor and MaxWeb. The College will be able to access the SolarMax web
portal to get a real-time display of performance data such as input and
output voltages, input and output currents, frequency, device temperature and
yield over the internet.
Stage one of Mazenod College’s solar PV system will commence in
mid-October, with stages two and three to begin soon after. The entire rollout
is expected to be completed by late January 2015.
Clean Technology Partners completed all the electrical and structural
engineering, and the grid connection approvals.
