Sydney’s Iconic Opera House Chooses Solar, Wind for Power

Australia’s most iconic building Sydney Opera House has inked contracts to source wind and solar power from major projects in the state of New South Wales.

Based on a power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with commercial electricity retailer Flow Power, more than 85% of Opera House’s yearly energy consumption of 16 GWh (equivalent to 2,500 households) will be matched with renewable energy supplies for the next seven years.

The Opera House will be investing its annual A$2.4 million ($1.67 million) electricity spend to source power from major wind and solar projects in New South Wales. The installations include the 270 MW Sapphire Wind Farm in Glenn Innes and the 120 MW Bomen Solar Farm, which is under construction in Wagga Wagga.

“The Opera House is Australia’s first heritage-listed building to commit to this innovative energy retail model, joining a growing number of high-profile organizations leading the way towards a low carbon future through investment in large-scale renewable projects,” said Ian Cashen, the Sydney Opera House’s executive director of building. “This deal brings us another step closer to our long-term renewable energy goals and will deliver significant savings in operational costs over its seven-year period.”

This adds another feather to Sydney opera house Cap. Sydney Opera House already has a strong sustainability theme. It may also pursue tri-generation options soon with battery storage thrown in the hybrid RE energy source. Currently, it also uses seawater through a heat exchange system to defray air conditioning consumption, has been building artificial reefs on its harbor foreshore. Sydney’s jewel also has a 5 green star green building rating, making it the first World Heritage building to obtain one.

While in the country, on the whole, saving on electricity bills has been one of the key drivers for Australian businesses with the annual energy use of more than 100 MWh per year to negotiate renewable energy PPAs. The largest wind farm in New South Wales, the Sapphire site is also helping Commonwealth Bank of Australia move toward 100% renewable power by 2030 under a 12-year PPA, as of January.