Page 10 - Climate Control News - July 2018

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Water battery to reduce air conditioning costs
SUNSHINE COAST UNIVERSITY (USC) HAS ANNOUNCED PLANS FOR A GIANT “WATER BATTERY” RUN BY SOLAR PANELS IN A BID TO BECOME CARBON NEUTRAL BY 2025.
Water tank and panels to be used at USC.
UQ SETS WORLD STANDARD
The University of Queensland is set to become the first major university in the world to offset 100 per cent of its electricity usage through its own renewable energy asset.
UQ vice-chancellor and president professor Peter Høj said the University would become energy neutral by 2020 with the establishment of a $125 million solar farm to offset its annual electricity needs.
“The 64 megawatt (MW) solar farm located just outside of Warwick, on Queensland’s Southern Downs, will provide research, teaching and engagement opportunities in addition to its environmental and financial benefits,” Professor Høj said.
“We are already the largest solar generator among Australian universities, and this initiative will complement the 50,000 existing solar panels on our campuses.
The proposed solar farm will generate about 154,000 megawatt hours of clean energy each year – enough to power 27,000 average homes – more than offsetting UQ’s current and projected future annual electricity usage.
An artists impression of the Warwick Farm solar farm
PROJECT PARTNER VEOLIA will build, in- stall and operate 5,800 rooftop solar panels and a 4.5 megalitre water storage tank at USC’s main campus at Sippy Downs to cool water for air conditioning.
It is expected to save more than 92 thousand tonnes of CO2 emissions over 25 years, equiva- lent to the carbon emissions of 525 average Aus- tralian houses for the same period.
Veolia will build the panels and tank at no cost to the university, operate and maintain the infra- structure for 10 years, selling the energy gener- ated back to the university at a rate cheaper than electricity from the grid. After this time, owner- ship of the infrastructure will transfer to USC.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill said the project was a major step towards the university’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2025, and was expected to be operational by early 2019.
“The tank is essentially a giant water battery,” Professor Hill said. “Sixty percent of our energy is used for chilling water for air conditioning, so our Asset Management Services team and Veolia have come up with a way we can harness solar energy for cooling water and storing it."
The 2.1 megawatt photovoltaic system, with panels spread across campus rooftops and car park structures, will produce enough energy to cool 4.5 megalitres of water, effectively acting as a seven-megawatt battery.
“This will reduce the campus’s grid electricity use by 36 per cent and will lead to an estimated $100 million saving over the 25-year life of the project,” Professor Hill said.
“We will use environmentally friendly refrig- erant gas, and campus lake water for the air con- ditioning cooling towers, resulting in a saving of 802 megalitres of potable water.”
BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET WINDFALL
The NSW government is investing half a billion dollars on air conditioning over the next five years. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the $500
million will be used to put air conditioning in up to 1,000 schools across the state. “This funding will ensure thousands of classrooms that previously did not have air conditioning will now receive it,” she said.
Opposition Education spokesman, Jihad Dib, said that in the past the government resisted calls to boost air conditioning.
“Ironically the government was very dismissive of Labor’s air conditioning policy and it seems now they’ve decided to copy it,” Dib said.
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