Rooftop solar rollout reduces manufacturer’s grid reliance

Packaging manufacturing and recycling giant Visy Industries has announced the deployment of a combined 4.5 MW of solar across the rooftops at seven of its Australian sites as it seeks to reduce its reliance on grid-supplied electricity.

November 29, 2024 David Carroll

Image: Visy Industries

Visy Industries, one of Australia’s biggest privately-owned companies, has rolled out a combined 2.4 MW of rooftop solar across six of its facilities in Victoria and is installing a 2.1 MW system at its factory at Yatala in southeast Queensland.

The company said it had teamed with commercial solar installation specialist Energy Aware to install the solar panels at its Victorian facilities, including a 550 kW system atop its board manufacturing plant at Truganina in Melbourne’s west.

1K5° Commercial, an offshoot of German solar technology developer and retailer 1komma5°, is installing the 2.1 MW system at Visy’s beverage can factory in Queensland. The install, Visy’s largest rooftop solar system to date, is on target to be complete next month.

Visy General Manager of Energy, Ryan Santowski, said the systems are expected to deliver significant savings for the company with early estimates show the solar energy will reduce its reliance on the grid by 7% across the Victorian sites, and by 23% at the Queensland site.

Santowski said the introduction of solar will also improve the sustainability of its products.

“While many of our products have up to 100% recycled content, we’re always looking for ways to further reduce our environmental impact and energy footprint,” he said.

“Installing solar panels on our sites is one of the many ways we continue to invest in green power and improve the sustainability of the food and beverage packaging we make.”

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