Onslow in WA hit a milestone of being 100% renewable powered recently, but what if they added solar car parks to the equation?
Congratulations to the little dot on the map that is the WA town of Onslow. Recently Onslow hit the major milestone of being the first Australian town to be 100% renewable-powered. Whilst it was just for 80 minutes on a glorious sunny day, the precedent was set.
The operation of the Onslow microgrid powered by 100 per cent renewables signifies a landmark step towards building a cleaner, brighter, renewable energy future for our State. This innovative project demonstrates how distributed energy resources can be safely integrated at the grid level, unlocking further benefits from Western Australia’s world-leading rooftop solar uptake.
How did they do it?
The tiny town of Onlsow worked with a power company Horizon Power. Together the power company and the community used a microgrid approach to set up an alternative power system for the whole town. The microgrid includes both domestic and commercial solar panels and solar batteries engineered into a collective model. A piece of innovative software used as a control system was also important in both the planning and implementation of the solar system.
Can Solar Car Parks be a part of the solution?
At PV Structures we are firm believer that solar car parks are an integral part of this type of microgrid system. A solar car park can provide much needed shade and utility as well as generating power. Unlike traditional rooftop solar, solar car parks have much more flexibility in design. The solar panels themselves can be angled and faced in virtually any directions. This flexibility means that careful planning can take advantage of the location to maximise energy generation.
Advocating for solar carparks
Solar carparks are both a commercial and environmental solution. They provide unique amenity to the community as well as the obvious solar energy generation component. As we start to rethink energy and local systems are upgraded, a little creativity can mean that unused space is not taken for granted. A solar car park in a strategic location could be the difference in a town like Onslow between 80 minutes of 100% renewables and half a day.
If you would like more information about solar car parks and PV shade structures for your local area, commercial precinct or organisation then please get in touch. Take a look at the range of projects we have worked on in our recent projects gallery. We work with individuals, commercial entities, local governments, power companies and solar companies to design, manufacture and construct some of the most robust and reliable solar car parks in Australia.
