The team at PV Structures have had a busy start to the year. Whilst there has been quotes flying in every direction, there has also been the completion of the Arundel Plaza Solar Car Park.
Arundel Plaza is a small to medium-sized shopping centre in Queensland’s Gold Coast which contacted us about the installation of a solar car park for a part of their car park. The work that then commenced was a great example of teamwork with our commercial solar partner. It goes to show that whether the project is small in scale or as large as some of our other projects, there is still great potential in the commercial solar space.
The engineering required to pull off this project was worth noting also. The steelwork in terms of purlins and beams was often 5 metres high to provide plenty of clearance for the RV’s and loaded 4WDs that regularly use this carpark as they travel on the nearby M1. The height of the structures also helped to maximise the exposure of the panels to the sun, therefore increasing the energy generation potential.
The shopping centre is managed by LJ Hooker Commercial Gold Coast, who are more than happy with the end product. Their foresight and commitment to the project on behalf of the shopping centre owners meant that this innovative solar car park is leading the way for Gold Coast Shopping Centres. Not only have we been able to provide a much-needed shade solution for the centre, but also provide clean, renewable energy to offset the carbon emissions of the busy centre. In fact, the 42 space solar car park uses more than 350 solar panels and covers an area of 590m2. The economic and energy data modelling suggests that this fairly small project will produce enough energy to power 25 average homes. Not a bad job at all, even if we do say so ourselves.
Our friends at Shopping Centre News have covered the solar car park in their recent article which can be found here.
For more information on this or other solar car parking projects, get in touch with our team.
