More than 3,200 solar panels have been installed across the rooftops of the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation’s (ANSTO’s) Australian Synchrotron in Clayton. The panels cover an area of nearly 6,600 square metres, including the large and circular roof of the main building that hosts the powerful particle accelerator. This will save ANSTO over 2 GWh a year and will reduce its carbon footprint by over 1,680 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Professor Michael James, Director of the Australian Synchrotron said investment in renewable technology is just one way to meet sustainability goals while also contributing to a cleaner and greener environment. “Electricity is one of our largest operating costs, so our new solar plant will deliver substantial savings and also act as a buffer against increasing energy overheads in the future,” he noted. “The reduction in our carbon footprint is enough to offset the running of 367 family-sized cars each year.”
Installation of the 1,668 kWh system and inverter will supply part of the synchrotron’s total energy requirements and is expected to deliver savings of around AUD2m ($1.3m) over a five-year period to 2029. Professor James said the saved running costs “will be used to support operations as well as the expansion of our research capabilities and facilities”. He added: “Going solar was a no-brainer. The size of our rooftops, paired with the ample, uninterrupted exposure to sunlight at our location within the Monash precinct, was a major incentive for us to become more energy efficient.”
The solar panel installation, completed over a five-month period, covers the rooftops of the main Australian Synchrotron building, the Australian Synchrotron Guesthouse, and the Environmentally Controlled Storage Facility. The programme supports a large expansion of the Australian Synchrotron facility, including the AUD100m BRIGHT Programme to construct an additional eight new beamlines for scientific research, and a partnership with Monash University’s Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre to construct a purpose-built laboratory facility to support health research and Australia’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector.
The Australian Synchrotron solar panel installation supports ANSTO’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy to reduce its grid electricity dependency by 20 per cent by 2035. This initiative also plays a pivotal role in ANSTO’s commitment of achieving net zero by 2030, by supplementing power usage with renewable energy technologies.
Image: Solar panels have been installed on the circular roof of the main Australian Synchrotron building (courtesy of ANSTO)
