La Trobe University has added 1500 solar panels to a new car park at Bendigo campus.
There are now 3,300 panels installed, according to La Trobe vice-chancellor professor John Dewar.
He said that one third of electricity used at the Bendigo campus is now generated by onsite renewables.
“Not only do students and staff now have a shady place to park their cars during hot days, but with this investment we have significantly reduced the campus’ running costs, and carbon emissions,” Dewar said.
“We are getting closer to achieving our goal of net zero carbon emissions on our regional campuses by 2022, and across the University by 2029.”
The carports are part of a suite of measures the university has implemented in Bendigo to reach the 2022 goal – including installing thousands of high-efficiency LED lights and a large-scale organic waste composter.
The solar panels at La Trobe’s Bendigo campus equate to 1.15 MW, or the equivalent of 230 household systems.
La Trobe students and staff are now using software developed at the University to monitor energy production and identify further energy efficiency improvements.