Roof solar panel array at Tonsley Innovation District in Adelaide one of Australia's largest: capacity doubled, 2022
The solar panels on the five-hectare roof of the Main Assembly Building at Tonsley Innovation District were part of a log-term plan to eventually expand the panels to 20,000.
Image courtesy Tonsley Innovation District
One of Australia’s largest rooftop solar arrays, started in 2019 at Tonsley Innovation District in Adelaide southern suburbs, had its capacity doubled in 2022 with 2,000 panels airlifted onto the roof of district's new Line Zero building.
The first of about 7,400 panels were installed on the five-hectare roof of the Main Assembly Building (from the former Chryselr and Mitsubishi car plants) by ZEN Energy, on behalf of Enwave Australia, owner and operator of the scheme. The array would have a total installed capacity of 2.34MW, providing power for Tonsley businesses, institutions and residents.
The new panels installed in 2022 increased the district’s solar capacity to 5 megawatts – the equivalent of powering 340-plus homes at Tonsley Village a day and generating 80% of the Tonsley district's energy needs..
The long-term plan was to increase solar generation capacity to as much as six megawatts, generated by up to 20,000 solar panels as Tonsley grew.
The initial solar energy installation offset as much as 3,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year over its lifetime and was part of Tonsley’s commitment to sustainability and innovation, as well as its six-star green star communities rating, The system would optimise solar generation for the energy demands of the entire Tonsley precinct, boosting security of energy supply and providing competitive energy pricing to all customer classes, including commercial and residential.
Businesses at Tonsley had the choice to buy their electricity from Enwave Australia at competitive market rates and support the site’s shift to cleaner energy or buy from the energy retailer of their choice.
The scheme would later expand to include providing recycled water for non-drinking purposes and natural gas for residences in Tonsley Village.