Rooftops in central Melbourne have the potential to house up to 637 hectares of solar panels, a new study conducted by the City of Melbourne has found.
The study mapped every rooftop in the municipality to understand the potential for increasing the uptake of solar PV in the inner city.
By comparison, Australia’s biggest solar farm – the 102 MW Nyngan Solar Plant in NSW – occupies approximately 250 hectares, meaning central Melbourne could effectively play host to two and a half Nyngans.
Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the Rooftop Project involved analysing aerial photographs to understand where rooftops could be transformed using solar PV panels. It also looked at where reflective materials or vegetation could be added to rooftops.
“There is so much potential right above us,” the Lord Mayor said. “Most rooftops in central Melbourne are used only to store heating and cooling equipment. We could set them up to generate clean energy, increase property values and cool temperatures within the city.”
The research reveals that rooftops in the municipality have the potential to house:
- 637 hectares of solar PV panels
- 259 hectares of cool roofs (using reflective materials to keep the building cool)
- 236 hectares of intensive (heavy) green roofs and
- 328 hectares of extensive (lightweight) green roofs.
The mapping shows that larger commercial and industrial buildings outside the CBD have enormous potential to store solar panels.
Built-up areas such as the CBD, Port Melbourne, and Docklands were deemed more suitable for green or vegetated roofs. However, recent examples such as the 21.5 kW installation at 199 William Street have shown that even inner city apartment blocks can benefit from PV, despite shading considerations.
Chair of the City of Melbourne’s Environment Portfolio, Cr Arron Wood, encouraged residents and business owners to look at the maps and consider whether their roof could be used to help them save on energy bills and help the environment.
“Our research shows that solar panels could be installed on 637 hectares of rooftops – that’s three times the size of the Hoddle Grid. These households and businesses could be making use of the sunlight that falls on their roofs by installing solar,” Cr Wood said.
‘We want to work with the community to help reduce power bills and increase employment within the renewable energy sector. Rooftop solar will play an important part in helping us to reach our target of sourcing 25 per cent of the municipality’s electricity from renewable energy by 2018.”
