Commercial Case Studies
“We deal with a great number of contractors and would rate the PowerSmart delivery onsite as amongst the very best.”
Jason Happy – National Facilities Manager Kiwi Property.
While most of the country seemed to be shopping for Christmas presents at Sylvia Park Mall in December 2014, the PowerSmart team was busy installing New Zealand’s largest solar PV system. Covering around 3000 sq.m of roof space atop Pak & Save and the Hoyts Cinema, this massive system currently accounts for almost 16% of Sylvia Park's base building energy consumption.
This was a challenging project, partly due to the size of the installation, but also due to the logistics involved in completing it without interruption to the day-to-day operation during the mall's busiest time. There were multiple articulated truckloads of gear that had to be coordinated and craned onto the roof. It was a massive exercise but was completed on time and with no disruptions to Sylvia Park Christmas shoppers.
Why Solar?
Kiwi Property and Sylvia Park management are always looking for ways to control their costs. From cleaning contractor costs to electricity bills, small reductions in fixed costs can have a massive effect on profitability for shareholders and costs for tenants.
Their decision to invest in solar PV was two-fold - firstly it enabled to them to lock in today's electricity prices for 16% of their daytime baseload energy needs for the next 30+ years, and secondly it provides Kiwi Property a promotional point of Sylvia Park as a sustainable mall.
Commitment to sustainability helps Sylvia Park stand out from the crowd. The combination of providing EV charging stations and having New Zealand's largest solar electricity system shows dedication to making a real difference. Of course this commitment to sustainability also has to stack up financially, and with power prices increasing on average 3% per year Kiwi Property will not have any problem making this investment pay a return.
Sylvia Park Mall - 350kW
Label Title: New Zealand's largest solar electricity system - 350kW
Type: Grid Tied
Location: Auckland - Sylvia Park Mall
Specs: 350kW
Est. Energy Production: 477,000kWh/year
