Canberra Hospital to get 500kW solar PV system, in $3.3m govt upgrade

One Step Off The Grid

The Canberra Hospital will have a 500kW rooftop solar PV system installed on its roof, as part of a $3.3 million energy efficiency upgrade by the ACT government that will save it just under $500,000 a year on energy bills.

Outgoing ACT minister for the environment, Simon Corbell, announced the plans for the hospital on Monday, which the government would pay for using its purpose built Carbon Neutral Fund.

As well as the rooftop solar system – which will cut the hospital’s annual energy use by a whopping 721,000kWh – the upgrade will include a switch to higher efficiency lighting and other energy efficiency measures.

“The Canberra Hospital delivers a critical 24 hour service to our community and is the ACT Government’s largest user of energy, with 25% of the government’s electricity use at that site alone,” Corbell said in a statement on Monday.

“Today’s announcement will see the hospital save a massive $490,000 a year in energy bills by 2017-18 and improve the government’s overall carbon footprint.

“Each energy efficiency initiative adopted by government facilities brings us closer to our goal of zero net emissions by 2020 as a government,” Corbell said.

Other projects completed under the Carbon Neutral ACT Government Fund include lighting upgrades in ACT public schools, heating system upgrades in community facilities, including libraries and community centres, and water heaters for swimming pools at two Canberra special schools.

This article was originally published on RenewEconomy’s sister website, One Step Off The Grid. To sign up for the weekly newsletter, click here.