Coca-Cola Amatil to roll out 10,000 solar panels

Energy services company Verdia has been selected to manage a 10,000 solar panel rollout across the bottling operations of Coca-Cola Amatil. The project is part of an estimated 68 MW of behind-the-meter solar PV systems being developed and installed by Verdia across Australia, covering the property, manufacturing, agribusiness, government, education, health and aged-care sectors.

Coca-Cola Amatil’s 3.5 MW solar PV system will be installed across three sites in three different states over the next 8–10 months. Covering a total of around 2 ha, the project will help to cut the company’s annual energy costs by up to $1.3 million.

“This is one of the biggest rooftop programs in the country — we’re installing enough solar panels to cover 42 average suburban blocks,” said Verdia CEO Paul Peters.

“By mid next year, Coca-Cola Amatil will be drawing around 14% less energy from the local electricity grid across these three sites. They’re replacing it with power from the sun, which equates to a reduction of 4163 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year.”

Verdia completed site inspections, electrical connection investigations, engineering designs and financial modelling as part of the scoping work for the project. It will then manage more than 50 contractors and suppliers working across NSW, Queensland and Western Australia to fast-track the project delivery. Verdia will continue to monitor and maintain the systems.

Coca-Cola Amatil’s Managing Director for Australian Beverages, Peter West, said the investment made sense both commercially and environmentally, noting, “On current figures the installation will pay for itself in six to seven years and is expected to provide an additional $14 million benefit over its lifetime.

“We’re also committed to obtaining at least 60% of our energy needs from renewable and low-carbon sources by 2020.

“So this installation is a win-win for us, and congratulations to the team at Verdia for helping make it a reality.”

Image caption: An aerial view of the 1.7 MW solar array that is set to be installed at Coca-Cola Amatil Eastern Creek Distribution and Warehouse Centre.