665kW Solar PV System Car Park and Roof-Mounted System, Northam Boulevard Shopping Centre
In 2017 PAE designed, supplied, installed, and commissioned the state’s largest car park solar PV system at the Northam Boulevard Shopping Centre. Consisting of 898 solar panels and combined with a further 1,217 roof-mounted solar panels the shopping center has 665kW of embedded solar PV. The car park is a bespoke design using a locally fabricated structure and mounting method. Inverters are mounted inside custom-made enclosures within the car park and ensure minimal disruption to the centre’s customers. This WA benchmark project was undertaken without accident or incident, in a similar working environment as the proposed APIL projects, and delivered on-time and within the budget of a Lump Sum contract.
Issues Managed
There were many issues faced with this project as it was the first of its kind in the state and designed completely inhouse at Perdaman Advanced Energy. The car park remained operational throughout the construction process so was staged to ensure minimal disruption to the shopping centre patrons. Originally the shopping centre roof was considered structurally inadequate to support solar panels. Perdaman Advanced Energy designed and installed a bespoke external roof structure which was strong enough to support over 1,200 solar panels on an otherwise redundant roof space. One of the largest challenges came from the lightning protection system. Local knowledge was challenged with the design of individual structures which need to be connected to protect against damage from a lightning strike. The structures lightning protection was tested after completion and was well within the site requirements.
Outcomes
PAE expertly delivered the 665kW solar carpark + roof-mounted system on and within the $2M budget. The entire project was completed without accident or incident.