Macquarie Harbour Base Hospital is installing the largest roof solar panel system in medical facilities across the country.
The town on the north-central coast of New South Wales is said to be one of Australia's best climates, and Leslie Williams, a state legislator at Macquarie Harbor, is happy to make good use of it.
"We have plenty of sunshine for so long a year.
"We can use this to benefit our medical facilities and reduce energy and environmental costs," Ms. Williams said.
"The central part of the North Bank is one of the areas with the highest utilization of solar energy on roofs, so it is entirely reasonable for us to use our medical facilities to capture the sun.
"More than 2,000 photovoltaic panels will be installed at a price of $900,000 as part of a project in the central North Coast Health Zone.
It will generate 609 kilowatts of electricity, covering most of the available roof space in hospitals and adjacent Cancer Research Institute on the North Coast, greatly reducing the site's dependence on the grid.
Ms. Williams said it would save hospitals about $130,000 a year in electricity bills.
Macquarie Port Base Hospital has been selected as a large pilot hospital. -
Scale Solar Energy Project aims to prove that it is a cost-effective and sustainable option for hospitals across the country.
Danny Sanders, environmental sustainability project manager for the Central North Coast Health District, said the system was expected to be investigated by other health districts in New South Wales.
"Their roofs are big and they spend day and night.
It's a perfect storm to install solar energy, "Mr. Sanders said.
The project will also include a $7 million project to implement a range of other energy-saving measures throughout the north-central Coastal Health zone.
These include installation of LED lighting, roof solar panels, window shading and rainwater collection.
In Australia, installing large solar panels in hospitals is not a new concept.
"I know that Canberra has recently established a very large system, and Adelaide and Bankston are also going through this process.
Mr. Sanders said, "We happen to have the largest family at the moment. "
So far, the Friendly Society Private Hospital in Bondaburg, Queensland, has claimed to have the largest solar system in medical facilities.
It has more than 1200 panels installed, generating 545 kilowatts of electricity. -
It is slightly larger than the 503 kW roof array of Canberra Hospital.
Meanwhile, Charles Stewart University(CSU)
In southern New South Wales, 6,000 were opened last year. -
The panel system at Wagga Wagga Campus costs $3. 2 million.
The University says it is Australia's largest rooftop solar power system to date, producing one.
77 MW of electricity is roughly equivalent to 400 typical Australian households.
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