Tim Tams Made With Solar Power On The Way

Arnott’s Group has inked a deal with CleanPeak Energy that will see the iconic biscuit maker’s manufacturing facility in Sydney transition to 100% renewable energy for its electricity needs.

The plant in Huntingwood is huge. Covering 44,000sqm, there’s plenty of rooftop space for solar panels.

Huntingwood cranks out more than half of Arnott’s Group’s biccie volume – among the lines produced there are Tim Tams, Shapes and Jatz.  It operates 24 hours a day and employs more than 400 people.

In 2021, Arnott’s Group launched its Sustainability Statement, an element of which was a commitment to achieve net zero emissions (Scope 1 and 2) for its operations by 2040 and across the value chain (Scope 3) by 2050. The company also  finalised plans for solar power systems for its three biggest manufacturing sites at Huntingwood, Marleston (SA)  and Virginia (QLD); plus a PV system for the rooftop of its North Strathfield head office in Sydney.

On Friday, Arnott’s and CleanPeak Energy provided more detail on Huntingwood’s transition to green power.

CleanPeak will install a total of 4.1 megawatts of rooftop PV capacity; featuring around 10,000 solar panels. The solar power system will operate alongside a 15 MWh battery and is expected to generate more than 5.25 gigawatt-hours annually.

Beyond this, CleanPeak will source another 17.3 GWh of mixed renewable and non-renewable electricity required for the site annually, with view to it reaching 100 per cent renewables-based electricity by 2029.

CleanPeak assumes the role of energy retailer for the Huntingwood site on January 1 next year and will get cracking on the solar system installation as the first stage.  Stage 2 sees the battery storage installation commence, which is expected to be operational in the second half of next year.

Commenting on the project, Arnott’s Group Chief Transformation Officer said:

“It offers greater certainty over our electricity prices, is affordable and efficient, and is just one of the tools we’re investing in to get to meet our net zero commitment.”

CleanPeak Energy Racking Solar Energy Wins

In addition to sewing up the Arnott’s deal and other activities, CleanPeak Energy announced on Friday the switch will be flicked on a major solar expansion at Tonsley Innovation Precinct in Adelaide this week¹.

Among the biggest rooftop solar systems in Australia, the now 5MW project will generate more than 7 GWh of clean electricity each year, providing equivalent to around 80% of the Tonsley Innovation Precinct’s electricity requirements. The expansion involved air-lifting thousands of solar panels onto Renewal SA’s Line Zero building and TAFA SA’s campus back in May this year.

The next step for Tonsley is a 3.3MWh battery for the site – and there’s more storage to come; with a total of 10MWh planned.

Once all this is done and dusted, CleanPeak will have invested more than $20 Million at Tonsley.

It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good as they say, and with electricity prices set to further increase, commercial solar companies can look forward to keeping busy for the foreseeable future.