Our industry leading solar rollout

We are continuously improving how we source and use energy throughout our assets. A large focus in FY18 has been the rollout of  6.4 hectares of solar panels across ten of our retail town centres; the largest rooftop solar project ever undertaken by a landlord in Australia. The $23.5 million investment will see us install more than 39,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels, comparable in size to more than nine rugby fields, across the roof space on shopping centres including Stockland Merrylands (NSW), Stockland Burleigh Heads (Qld), Stockland Point Cook (Vic) and Stockland Wendouree (Vic).

With the project expected to generate 17.2 GWh of additional renewable energy every year, it will account for 20 to 25 per cent of retailers’ baseload and usage, excluding supermarkets and department stores. Near the conclusion of FY18, we added another three sites to the rollout. Once complete, the investment will increase our combined retail town centre solar generation capacity to 16.36 MW over 13 sites generating an estimated 20,000,000 kWh per annum.

Mark Steinert, Managing Director and CEO, said, "Investing in technology like solar energy is not only environmentally sustainable, it also makes good business sense. Our forecast average yield over a 10 year period is 11.6 per cent on capital invested, generating strong shared value for both our investors and our communities.”

The project reaffirms our position as a global leader in sustainability, and provides potential for future participation in the national energy market. It also brings us closer to our target of a 60 per cent carbon intensity reduction for our Retail Town Centre, Workplace and Business Parks assets over the FY06 – FY25 period.