Renewable Energy Project: Solar Panels and Battery
The Theatre Organ Society of Australia (SA) are a not-for-profit music society that exist to preserve and promote the theatre organ. In South Australia they host a theatre organ in the Capri Theatre, which they own. The Capri is staffed by almost 200 volunteers from the local community and all profits from running the Capri as a cinema, go back into the preservation of the organ and the maintenance of the heritage listed building.
The theatre has large power bills and has been proactive in addressing their energy efficiency. They have been unable to install solar panels in the past as the roof was not structurally suitable for traditional panels, however, new lightweight, slimline panels have made installing solar panels possible. Evening operating hours and rising energy prices have also made a battery financially viable for them. Importantly, the battery will store solar energy during the day and reduce the use of power from the grid in evening peak times playing a part in allowing for greater uptake of renewable energy across the grid.
CORENA already has a significant portion of the amount that will be required for the loan from recurring donations and previous loan repayments but donations are needed to cover the shortfall.
Website – https://capri.org.au/
This project has been fully funded – Thank you!
Loan details
Loan amount: $155,303
Loan repayments: $7,765 per quarter
Status: Fundraising complete
Installation date: Mid March 2024
Work Details
71.8 kW solar electricity system 51.2 kWh battery 167 x 430W Sunman panels
2 x 20 kW Sungrow inverters
1 x 10 kW Sungrow hybrid inverter
2 x 25.6 kWh batteries (51.2 kWh)
Expected savings: 94,458kWhs and $32,500/annum
Reduction in carbon emissions/yr: 31 tonnes