Renewable Energy

In 2018, Vicinity announced Australia's largest investment in shopping centre-based solar energy, kicking off what would be a sustained and nationwide push into delivering renewable energy across the Vicinity portfolio.

Innovatively, the project not only installed solar panels, it also explored the use of double-sided solar panels, solar glass, and battery storage.

The installation of solar systems has helped Vicinity create a more climate-resilient portfolio and, aligned with its sustainability strategy, progress towards a net-zero carbon future.

In 2018, Vicinity announced Australia's largest investment in shopping centre-based solar energy, committing $28 million towards the renewable energy solution across five centres in South Australia and Western Australia - Castle Plaza, Elizabeth City Centre, Kurralta Park, Ellenbrook Central, and Currambine Central.

The Stage 1 project installed approximately 11.2 megawatts of solar generating capacity across around 39,000 solar panels. The resulting energy generation is upwards of 17.4-gigawatt hours per year - the equivalent required to power Adelaide Oval's light towers continuously for 3.5 years.

During Stage 1, solar panels were installed on the rooftops of the centres and across a series of car park shades, making this the largest car park solar installation in Australia with more than 2,400 covered bays. Providing additional comfort, the solar shades also enhance the customer and retailer experience.

In delivering the projects, more than 150 highly skilled, local jobs were created across the five shopping centres during the construction period.

Following the success of its Stage 1 solar energy rollout, Vicinity expanded the program, taking the overall project past $73 million across more than 20 centres nationwide.

The increased scale and investment elevated the program to comparably rank among the top 10 biggest corporate solar projects in the United States of America at that time.

Vicinity’s in-house energy team, working alongside local and international experts, managed the Stage 2 program, delivering more than 3,000 MWh of clean energy each year - enough to power 5,000 homes and the equivalent of removing more than 18,000 cars from our roads.

As with Stage 1, the installation also delivered economic benefits, creating approximately 300 highly-skilled jobs with another 40 ongoing upon completion of the project.

• $73 million investment

• 31.8MW capacity size

• 46,000MWh annual energy generation

• 90,000 solar panels

Vicinity's market-leading shopping centre-based solar energy network has been introduced to 24 centres across Australia.