Bendigo Bank Chooses Australian-Made Solar Panels For HQ

Bendigo Bank’s national headquarters in Victoria is sporting rooftop solar panels manufactured across the border in South Australia.

Operating since December but only formally unveiled last week, the 200kW Tindo Solar panel based commercial solar installation (2 x 100kW systems) on the Bendigo Centre has already generated approximately 50MWh of clean electricity; equivalent to around 15 percent of Bendigo Centre’s power needs over the timeframe.

Tindo says this is one of the largest solar installations in the City of Greater Bendigo. According to information from the Australian Photovoltaic Institute (APVI), larger systems in the LGA as at the end of September last year were:

• Lansell Square: 1.1MW
• Bunnings: 328kW
• LaTrobe University: 350kW
• Bendigo Solar Park: 336kW
• Tanloden: 275kW
• Gilmac: 467kW

… and some of those are ground mounted.

Bendigo Centre’s new rooftop panels add to a solar hot water system and other sustainability features of the building, including a water treatment plant processing around 20,000 litres of waste water per day that is then used in all toilets throughout the building. The building also boasts under-floor displacement air conditioning (underfloor air distribution – UFAD).

Opened in 2008, Bendigo Centre is claimed to have half the energy consumption of a typical office building of its size, and was the first 5-Star Green Star building in regional Australia.

“Our Bank’s fundamental purpose is to help customers and communities to succeed by securing prosperous futures,” said Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Managing Director Marnie Baker. “In recent years the expectations of customers and investors have evolved to the point where they want to see how the Bank is contributing to a more sustainable future as well.”

Bendigo/Adelaide Bank: Emissions & Renewable Energy

This isn’t the first solar system for a Bendigo/Adelaide Bank building – at least 31 branches across Australia now have panels, with additional installations to occur this year.

The organisation has committed to reduce absolute emissions by 50% by 2030 and purchase 100% renewable energy by 2025. In terms of fossil fuel exposure, it does not lend directly to projects in the coal, coal seam gas, crude oil or natural gas sectors, “and will not start to do so”.

MarketForces, which engages in activism to compel banks, superannuation and insurance firms to get their snouts of the fossil fuel trough (among other things) notes the organisations have no record of funding fossil fuel since 2016.

Additionally, Bendigo Bank has supported community groups with grants to help them go solar, among them Dunsborough Primary School in Western Australia  back in 2018. It has also provided funding to larger community renewable energy projects such as Hepburn Wind and Warburton Hydro.

Bendigo’s association with Tindo goes beyond this recent installation. It has also partnered with Tindo to provide access to staff discounts on solar panels and batteries, and financed Tindo Solar’s new $11.5 million factory in Adelaide – which should start production pretty soon. SolarQuotes Founder Finn Peacock checked out the new factory back in November as part of SolarQuotes TV Episode 11: The Australian-Made Solar Edition.

Tindo Solar panels are currently listed as SQ-approved brand. On a related note, learn more about finding the best solar panels for your home’s rooftop.