5 companies that prove the power of commercial solar installation

When you think of solar panels, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

For most, it’s things like solar water heaters, or domestic rooftop solar.

While it’s true that these relatively small-ticket items make up a large chunk of the recent solar installation boom, many are also for commercial solar.

And it isn’t just small businesses, either – we’re also seeing an increase in demand for commercial solar installation coming from some of Australia’s (and the world’s) biggest companies!

Whyalla Steelworks

While Australia is more known for its ability to dig up iron ore rather than its ability to turn it into steel, our steel industry is still nothing to sneeze at.

Part of the steelmaking process involves taking iron ore and smelting it down, where impurities are removed and carbon added for strength.

With a melting point of 1538°C, this is a process that eats up an incredible amount of energy!

The traditional choice for steel mills the world over is coal.

As we all know however, coal is starting to fall out of favour here in Australia. Sensing this change, Whyalla decided to turn to renewables to power its operations.

Part of that $700 million investment includes 200MW of solar panels, with the potential to scale up to a whopping 480MW.

Carlton & United Breweries (CUB)

Carlton Draught. Crown Lager. Foster’s. There’s a good chance your favourite beer comes from one of this company’s breweries.

Breweries are high-energy operations. Not only do they operate around the clock to meet demand, but they also use plenty of energy-hungry equipment and machinery as well, such as:

Mashing systems
Lautering systems
Brew kettles
Fermentation vessels
Conditioning systems
Bottling and packaging machines

In an effort to reduce their considerable energy bills (and help the planet), CUB committed to powering ALL of its operations using renewables.

And so far, it’s been working out great for them!

Commercial solar installation makes up a large part of these efforts, with many of its breweries around the country choosing rooftop solar as well as purchasing their power from solar farms.

Telstra

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t deny that Telstra has been taking serious steps towards cutting their reliance on grid energy.

And frankly, we don’t blame them. According to some reports, Telstra’s energy usage accounts for a whopping 1% of the entire country’s energy usage.

Just imagine what their power bills must look like!

Solar is just one part of Telstra’s $20 billion investment in renewables (because take it our word for it, commercial solar installation is an investment, with tangible ROI!)

In particular, Telstra is making moves to buy all of its electricity from large-scale solar and wind farms to bring down their reliance on the grid.

While it mightn’t involve commercial solar installation per se, it just goes to show that many of Australia’s largest companies are taking solar as a serious (and viable) solution to their energy requirements!

Mars Australia

Okay, so technically Mars is an American company. However, they also maintain significant Australian operations AND they’re committed to going solar, so they count!

With their US operations already running off 100% renewables (including solar), the company has turned its attention to its Australian operations.

In particular, Mars has signed agreements with Total Eren, an Italian renewable energy company that’s recently set up shop down under.

All 6 of its Australian factories as well as its 2 offices will source their power from the Kiamel solar farm in Western Victoria. With 200MW of capacity, that’s plenty of capacity to keep producing all of our favourite lollies and sweets.

Bidfood

All of these companies are national leaders, not just in their industries, but also in their adoption of commercial solar power.

Looking for a story that’s a bit closer to home? We’ve got one just for you.

Better yet, it’s a story that Pacific Solar played a starring role in!

Have you gone to a restaurant or cafe recently? If so, there’s a good chance that the ingredients you ate were supplied by Bidfood.

As one of Australia’s largest food suppliers, Bidfood is responsible for delivering fresh ingredients and produce to hospitality businesses the nation over.

Recently, Bidfood committed to making its operations greener, taking steps to seek out alternative power sources for many of its energy-hungry operations.

And that’s where we came in!

Pacific Solar was selected by Bidfood to bring solar to several of Bidfood’s distribution centres, warehouses and cold storage facilities – locations that are notorious for the amount of electricity that they consume.

Thanks to our data-centric approach towards bidding, Pacific Solar was able to secure the job, and quickly got to work performing commercial solar installation in Melbourne and Brisbane for Bidfood’s facilities.

See for yourself how much we’ve managed to help Bidfood save.

Commercial solar installation holds the key to huge savings for your business

And Pacific Solar can help you get there!

What do each of these companies have in common? They all prove the ability of commercial solar to dramatically reduce their energy bills.

While your business may not be able to set up its very own dedicated solar farm, commercial solar installation is still a feasible option for businesses both large and small.

Unlike other solar companies, Pacific Solar takes a data-first approach towards our solar quotes. While others focus on cutting your upfront installation cost, we instead calculate:

Exactly how much you will save
Exactly how long it will take to pay off your initial investment
Your exact ROI over the life of your system

As an LG Platinum Partner (one of only 12 in the country), our team uses exclusively high-quality LG solar panels. These panels are among the most efficient in the market, and come with an industry-leading 25-year warranty.

You’re in it for the long-haul… and so are we!

For commercial solar installation that guarantees a strong ROI and dramatic savings, there’s only one team to call – us!

Give us a ring on 1300 448 447, or click here to request a free quote from our solar experts.