Melbourne’s Buildings Could Be Close to Self-Sustaining Through Fully Integrated Solar

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At city-scale modelling, they found that photovoltaics could provide 74% of Melbourne’s building consumption needs.

New modelling, on a scale ranging from individual structures through to neighbourhoods and an entire city, has shown that buildings in the City of Melbourne could provide 74% of their own electricity needs if solar technology is fully integrated into roofs, walls and windows.

Published in the journal Solar Energy, the research, led by members of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science based at Monash University, together with collaborators at the University of Lisbon, is the first of its kind anywhere in the world to model the viability and impact of window-integrated photovoltaics, alongside other solar technologies, at a city scale.

The results indicate that comprehensive adoption of existing rooftop PV technology alone throughout the city could radically transform Melbourne’s carbon footprint, significantly reducing its reliance on grid electricity generated by burning fossil fuels.

Continue reading at ARC Center for Excellence in Exciton Science

Image via ARC Center for Excellence in Exciton Science