THE Sydney Markets got a little bit greener this morning as it switched on the largest private sector rooftop solar system on a single site.
Federal Minister for Small & Family Business, Craig Laundy, officially “flicked the switched" together with NSW Minister for Planning, Anthony Roberts.
The system is made up of 8594 solar panels, with a capacity of more than 3 megawatts. The solar system will provide about 11 per cent of Sydney Markets’ annual site power consumption. It is equivalent to powering 730 households each year.
Twelve months of planning and $8.9 million went into the construction with Sydney Markets chief executive officer, Brad Latham, saying it was the latest addition to markets’ sustainability programs.
“We are very proud of our environmental achievements – over the past 17 years Sydney Markets has been a leader in waste recycling achieving upwards of 70pc recycling of all waste onsite, which not only benefits the environment but also saves our company over $1 million each year,” Mr Latham said.
“This solar system will enable us to generate sustainable energy, as well as drastically reduce our carbon footprint. In order to extract the same amount of CO2 from the atmosphere 676 hectares of trees would need to be planted each year.”
Sydney Markets chairman, John Pearson, said although today’s launch marked a significant milestone, there is the capacity to go even further.
“Sydney Markets has additional roof capacity to more than triple the generation of this solar system. We may continue to build upon and expand this system to meet our future energy needs,” Mr Pearson said.
“We are committed to reducing waste, decreasing our carbon footprint and prioritising environmental conservation and sustainability.”
