An industrial property that produces more energy than it uses at Skyline Park
As power prices spiked in the 2020s, we were faced with a threat to the ongoing viability of the occupiers of our buildings. This triggered us to start building large-scale solar and battery systems to reduce reliance on the grid and remove our vulnerability to unpredictable energy prices.
At the same time, we were developing 1 Skyline Park with a new roof and fit-out, so the timing was right.
With east-west-facing roofs, the property would traditionally be seen as sub-optimal for solar. However, our design philosophy was to capture maximum daily yield, rather than maximum annual yield. In this situation an east-west configuration is ideal, as it gives the best possible yield from sunrise to sunset in the winter months. Over 300 solar panels were installed.
During the day the power yield was typically far more than what was needed, yet the building had a considerable “base load” at night which needed power. This made the application of batteries ideal. In the first instance we put in 240 kWh of lead-acid backup batteries, which is about four Teslas’ worth of batteries. However, lead-acid batteries struggle with regular discharge, so we eventually upgraded to modern lithium-ion batteries. These have half the rated capacity but a higher usable capacity, as they can be more heavily discharged.
Following this installation, the property generates more power than it uses over the year. On most days there is no energy usage cost.
A secondary benefit is that the large inverter system provides backup power, which will keep running even in the event of a grid failure. This system is large enough to power practically all the main appliances in the building, so in theory the building could be off-grid much of the time if needed.
The property is now occupied by a forward-thinking business that values renewable power but did not want the maintenance obligations of the system. So our property investment company now manages the energy system and sells the occupier low-cost renewable energy: cheaper, lower emissions and independent. This brings in additional revenue to the property company, which can be used for further investment in renewable infrastructure. The return on investment (ROI) on the solar system is higher than on the property itself.
This arrangement is known as a “Power Purchase Agreement” (PPA) and is excellent for any large building where the occupiers are using energy during the day.