La Trobe University has seven campuses across Victoria and New South Wales, and in 2019, it committed itself to reach net zero emissions by 2029 through a long-term initiative. As part of this, the university built its world-class sporting complex at its Bundoora Campus in Melbourne for teaching, research, community participation and elite sport and wanted it to be powered by solar power.
Elite Solar Pro, an industry-leading solar and energy EPC based in Victoria, completed the 519kW system, which has over 1,100 x 470W panels installed on the stadium roof. It specified five of Fimer’s PVS-100-TL three-phase string inverters for the system, which is capable of generating approximately 724 MW of solar energy per year. This is more than enough to meet the entire stadium's electrical demands, with the surplus going to supplement its main campus.
The new facility includes an indoor stadium with six multi-purpose highball courts, a teaching and research building with world-class sport science and analytics research laboratories, and office space for commercial tenants. The stadium was awarded Australia's first '6 Star Green Star Design and As Built v1.2 certified rating‘ for a sports building by the Green Building Council Australia.
“The PVS-100-TL provides businesses and organisations with the power, quality and flexibility to meet their energy requirements” said Warren Merritt, Fimer Australia's Technical Sales Lead, who supported the installation and commissioning, including setting up the system's communications. “This is an impressive installation on a fantastic facility. It has been a pleasure to work with La Trobe University on this project as they continue their solar journey.”
Fimer's PVS-100-TL string inverters are located on the roof and built into a custom-made enclosure. The inverter is ideal for this type of application where energy demand fluctuates, and the high power-rating of each inverter means that fewer units are required, reducing CAPEX, due to its high-power density, as well as OPEX as it is quick to install, easy to configure and maintain.
The system is also connected to Fimer's Aurora Vision Plant Management platform, enabling the system to be monitored and managed remotely.
La Trobe Dean School of Allied Health Human Services and Sport, Professor Russell Hoye, added that the state-of-the-art stadium had transformed students' experiences and was a valuable community asset predicted to have more than 10,000 visitors a week.
“We're very proud of the fact that we've been able to create this incredible facility while remaining true to La Trobe's values of being sustainable, protecting our environment and aiming to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2029” Mr Hoye said.
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