Victorian food wholesaler taps solar to cut costs

Melbourne food wholesaler Complete Food Services has installed a 200kW solar PV array that it hopes will generate more than 50 per cent of the company’s daylight energy consumption and cut its electricity costs by over $50,000 a year.

The solar system, supplied by Yingli Green Energy Australia via distribution partner EnviroGroup, is made up of 800 250W high efficiency multi-crystalline PV panels, which will generate around 248MWh of energy a year.

The PV system is anticipated to generate a rate of return on the Preston company’s investment of over 20 per cent per annum, as well as reducing its carbon footprint by up to 323 tonnes annually.

For Yingli, the project demonstrates the potential of the largely untapped commercial markets in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Daman Cole, Yingli’s managing director for the region described solar PV as “a vital tool” for companies like Complete Food Services to reduce operating costs and carbon emissions, while also reducing business risk by minimising exposure to rising electricity grid prices.

Complete Food Services founder and director Tony Osky said in a statement on Wednesday that solar made “perfect sense” for his company, which depended on energy-hungry refrigerators to keep its products fresh – especially during the summer months.

“Solar fits perfectly with our needs as it operates at peak capacity on sunny days, generating more electricity and reducing our overheads when they’re at their highest,” he said.