Solar award finalists put focus on innovation

PRESS RELEASE

Solar installations on Australia Zoo’s Crocoseum, an award-winning design home and a major airport are among the finalists in the 2019 Clean Energy Council Solar Design and Installation Awards.

Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton said that the projects nominated in the 2019 Solar Design and Installation Awards set a very high standard for excellence, as might be expected during a record period for solar installation across the country.

“2018 was an all-time record for solar installation in Australia, resulting in some truly spectacular projects. The awards are designed to recognise the innovative solutions that solar installers have taken to address unusual problems in the design and installation of solar power systems,” Mr Thornton said.

“I would like to thank everyone who took the time to submit an entry this year. The quality and diversity of the projects was exceptional,” he said.

Award finalists have been named across the following categories:

·         Systems under 30 kW

·         Systems 30-240 kW

·         Systems over 240 kW.

The finalists were selected by an independent panel of solar industry experts. Visit our website to find out more about this year’s finalists and those from previous years.

The winners of the 2019 Solar Design and Installation Awards will be announced on Wednesday 23 October at the All-Energy Australia Exhibition and Conference in Melbourne.

All-Energy Australia is being held in partnership with the Clean Energy Council and Reed Exhibitions. It will run from 23-24 October at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Entrance to the exhibition is free, as is entry to the awards presentation ceremony which is held as part of the Grand Networking Event at the end of the first day of the conference. Visit the All-Energy Australia website for more information and to register for your free ticket.

The full list of finalists is as follows:

Systems under 30 kW

·         Joshua Axford for a 100-panel residential solar PV system built across two buildings that enabled the customer to reduce their electricity bill by over 90 per cent

·         Scott Hansen and William Andersson for a 25 kW three-phase off-grid solar PV system that saved the customer more than $80,000 in grid connection costs

·         Johnson Lee for a vertically mounted solar PV system with battery backup on Sydney’s award-winning Welcome to the Jungle hous

·         Nigel Phillips for a solar PV system in the shape of two crosses on St Anthony’s Catholic Church in Harristown, Queensland

Systems 30-240 kW

·         Christopher Geary and Christopher Betland for a 33 kW commercial solar PV system and 39 separate 3.3 kW systems on an apartment complex in Coffs Habour

·         Rohan Preston and Lachlan Bateman for using adhesive feet to mount a 98 kW solar PV system on Melbourne’s Highpoint Shopping Centre without damaging the roof

·         Jamie Thorncraft and Natalie Collins for a 87 kW solar PV system that powers Australia’s first rooftop indigenous garden at the Australian Technology Park in Sydney.

Systems over 240 kW

·         Luke Butterworth and Matthias Huchel for designing and installing a 1.74 MW solar PV system on Brisbane Airport’s International Terminal Building

·         Christopher Hackett and Dimitar Liev for a 638 kW solar PV system on the roof of the cafeteria and Crocoseum at the world-famous Australia Zoo

·         Matthew Linney and John Gough for a 1 MW solar PV carpark shading system at the Sunshine Plaza shopping centre in Maroochydore, Queensland.