Queensland’s University of the Sunshine Coast is set to slash its grid electricity consumption by 40 per cent, using a combination of 2.1MW of rooftop solar and a massive on-site “water battery.”
The unconventional system, designed and built in partnership with Veolia and now fully installed, will use the more than 6,000 solar panels to cool the water held in the three-storey tank, via a complex thermal process.
The solar PV, which spans across campus rooftops and carpark structures, will produce enough energy to cool 4.5 megalitres of water, effectively acting as a 7MW battery, the university said.
That stored, cooled water will then be used for air conditioning – currently the single biggest consumer of electricity at the Sippy Downs campus.
The system is expected deliver an estimated $100 million saving to the university over the 25-year life of the project, and slash emissions by more than 92 thousand tonnes for the same period.
To read the full story on RenewEconomy’s sister site, One Step Off The Grid, click here…
Smart Energy Council's John Grimes on the death of coal power in Australia, panel by…
Built around a 7kWh modular foundation and engineered for daily dual-cycling, the XE shatters the…
New boss at Smart Energy Council, and Powerlink, board movements at Synergy, plus movements at…
Regulator says surge in home battery and rooftop PV installations puts the 82 pct renewables…
One of Australia's leading commercial solar and energy services companies has signed an historic deal…
One-fifth of all gas exports on the east coast will be set aside for use…