Lismore’s Solar Car Park Cranking And Charging

Lismore City Council’s Clyde Campbell solar carpark is providing shade for shoppers, generating clean electricity and charging electric vehicles.

The $650,000 solar carpark project was funded through a $1 million grant provided by the Federal Government’s Drought Communities Program. It features a roof boasting 99.68kW of solar panels providing shade to 32 public carparks, two accessible car parks, four motorcycle parks and two electric vehicle charging spaces.

EV owners will be able to top up their electric cars using the Chargefox system at a cost of 40 cents per kilowatt-hour. It was anticipated charging services would be available from last Friday afternoon.

224 x 445W bifacial solar panels have been used for the arrays, which was an interesting choice. A bifacial solar panel is a type of PV module that can make use of light hitting the rear as well as the front face.

Another interesting aspect is the butterfly-type layout of the panels. This was inspired by the native Richmond Birdwing Butterfly. Birdwing Butterfly vine, its food source, is to grow on the shade structure from hanging planter boxes.

“This project demonstrates Council’s forward-thinking approach to building a more sustainable future,” said  Lismore City Council General Manager John Walker. “The addition of an EV charging station along with more shaded parking in the CBD will be a great asset to the city.”

Construction of the project officially kicked off in early July with electrical work for the 75kW DC fast EV charger and resurfacing of the area. Originally scheduled to be completed by late October, delays were experienced while awaiting Essential Energy’s nod on switchboard design, which had some knock-on effects also holding up other aspects.

What About Future Flooding?

Resurfacing and repairs to the car park area were necessary after a major flooding event in February this year. It was an event Lismore residents won’t forget, and some raised it in relation to this project.  Regarding the potential for similar flooding in the future (here’s hoping that never happens) and the impact on the solar carpark, Council said it was a major consideration during the design phase.

“All electronic/electrical components are positioned above the 1% AEP flood level of 12.45 AHD (the level specific to this location) or are removable (the EV charger). The solar roof of the structure includes an extra 500mm of ‘freeboard’ so the lowest solar panels sit at approx. 12.95 AHD. Furthermore, the structure itself has been engineered to withstand these flood depths and velocities, including an allowance for debris build up.”

Small-scale Solar Power In Lismore

The Clyde Campbell carpark PV projects adds to a bunch of other small-scale systems (<100kW capacity) in Lismore, where solar panels are a common sight on the rooftops of homes and other buildings. As at the end of November, more than 10,435 small-scale systems had been installed in Lismore’s postcode area (2480), with a collective capacity of 54,184 kW.

For households and businesses in the area still without panels, there are some great solar installers servicing Lismore that can help them start slashing their electricity bills through harvesting clean energy from their rooftops.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/lismore-solar-carpark-mb2770/