Australian property investor and developer Cbus Property and construction partner Multiplex have completed the installation of a 2,679 square metre building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system that will help power the new 435 Bourke Street building in central Melbourne.

The BIPV system comprises 1,391 integrated solar panels with an installed peak capacity of 375 kW installed across the 48-storey tower’s façade, crown and rooftop. Once commissioned, design modelling estimates the system will generate up to 20% of the complex’s forecast base-building electricity requirements on site, with the balance supplied through an off-site renewable energy arrangement.

Cbus Chief Executive Officer Chris Kakoufas said the completion of the BIPV system represents “a defining moment for sustainable commercial development in Australia.”

“Successfully installing 435 Bourke Street’s solar skin is a significant achievement for our project team and partners, not to mention a tangible demonstration of how innovation and sustainability can be embraced to enhance a building’s performance while contributing to its architectural identity,” he said.

Kakoufas said the solar skin reflects an emerging approach to the use of PV technology in commercial buildings, combining on-site renewable energy generation with elements of the building’s architectural design.

“The solar facade creates electricity but also is acting as a sunshade that stops heat coming into the building and so that also reduces the electrical demand to run cooling,” he said. “This reduces operational costs for our tenant partners and emissions from grid electricity consumption, while creating a distinctive visual identity for the tower.”

Multiplex Victoria Manager Ross Snowball said installing the solar skin had been “one of the most challenging aspects of delivering the project.”

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