Fujitsu latest to roll out rooftop solar in push to renewables

Information technology giant Fujitsu is the latest major company to commit its Australian operations to a renewable energy future, installing a 99.6 kW solar PV system on the roof of its data centre in Brisbane, Queensland.

January 7, 2021 David Carroll

Cleantech Solar has added another large-scale rooftop project to its portfolio.

Image: Cleantech Solar

Japanese company Fujitsu has installed a 249-module solar PV system at its data centre facility in the Brisbane suburb of Eight Mile Plains. The system, which covers the entire roof space, came online in December and is expected to generate more than 148 MWh of energy annually, enough to power 22 homes.

Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand CEO Graeme Beardsell said the installation is part of the company’s goal of sourcing 100% of the electricity consumed at company locations, both in and outside of Japan, from renewable sources by 2050.

“The solar panel installation shows that Fujitsu is continuing to progress against its sustainability targets,” he said.

“Fujitsu continues to invest in more efficient operation of our enterprise-grade data centre facilities to support its customers, who are dealing with rapid digital transformation.”

The solar PV installation is one of many undertaken by businesses in Australia in recent months. Supermarket giants Aldi and Woolworths have both rolled out solar PV across their facilities while fast-food operator McDonald’s has also invested in solar.

Australian companies are not the only ones opting for rooftop solar with Singapore-based Cleantech Solar announcing on Wednesday it had entered into a long-term agreement with Indonesian-based tyre manufacturer Elang Perdana to deploy a large-scale rooftop system at its factory south of Jakarta, on the island of Java.

Cleantech Solar said the 4.5 MW system would generate more than 136 GWh of renewable electricity over the lifetime of the 25-year agreement, equivalent to offsetting an estimated 117,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The company has already commenced work on the installation but opted on Thursday not to provide specific details about the project, including number of modules, scope of the installation and cost. But by way of comparison, bottled-water manufacturer Danone-AQUA last year installed a 2.9 MWp rooftop solar power system at its Java factory which comprised more than 8,300 solar modules and covered more than 16,555 square metres.

Cleantech Solar said it will provide a complete turnkey solution and guarantee the performance of the solar PV system throughout the lifetime of the agreement. The installation is expected to be complete by mid 2021.

The project adds to Cleantech Solar’s impressive portfolio which already includes more than 500 MW of solar power assets including installations in India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.

While it has established itself as one of the largest commercial and industrial solar PV developers in the Asia-Pacific region, a Cleantech Solar spokesperson told pv magazine the company has “no plans yet” to enter the Australian market.

Elang Perdana managing director Dicky Mursalie said the installation is part of the company’s push to become a sustainable business that brings “positive impact to the communities we operate in”.

“Besides the aim of building a sustainable future, we would like to increase general awareness on environmental preservation as this solar project will play an important role in reducing our carbon emissions,” he said.

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