Solar Power For New Sydney Fish Markets

Image: UrbanGrowth NSW

The new Sydney Fish Market will include solar panels – but it won’t be a straightforward installation given the “fish-scale” roof design.

Due to open in 2023, relocation of the fish market to the head of Blackwattle Bay, Bridge Road, Pyrmont will return Blackwattle Bay’s foreshore to the public.

The roof of the new facility will consist of a timber beam structure, topped with 350 white triangular roof panels and skylights, providing natural light and ventilation. The roof will also be used for rainwater capture that will sustain landscapes and aqua-scapes, where native flora and fauna will help filter the water and remediate soil. The filtered rainwater will be used in the building and to make ice.

As for the solar energy aspect, that’s still not clear and the roof will pose some challenges due to roof panel shape and potential shading issues.

The Fifth Estate pursued this aspect with UrbanGrowth NSW as there isn’t a solar panel to be seen in imagery associated with promotional materials. UrbanGrowth NSW says the design team has identified an opportunity for rooftop solar generation that would see solar power supplying a minimum of 5 per cent of the energy demands of the new markets. No other details were provided, but it may involve the use of microinverters, which are particularly useful for tricky roof designs.

5% isn’t much, but a building doesn’t have to be limited by its roof type or lack of suitable roof space to be powered by renewable energy – there’s always the option of power purchase agreements (PPAs). An example of this is UNSW’s PPA associated with the Sunraysia Solar Farm project, which will see the University sourcing 100% of its electricity from solar panels.

Other sustainability related features of the new Sydney Fish Market include waste being treated as a resource, with fish offal to be collected and used. How it will be used isn’t mentioned, but fish offal makes for a great fertiliser. 

Sustainability features of the new fish market will work towards achieving a green star rating of 5 from the Green Building Council of Australia.

Sydney Fish Market, the largest market of its type in the southern hemisphere, has been based at Blackwattle Bay since 1966. It receives 3 million visits per year, with roughly 900,000 of these from international visitors.

“This design will draw global attention to Sydney and quickly become one of the city’s most famous structures,” said Sydney Fish Market general manager Bryan Skepper. “The new market building will be a true community meeting place that takes the Sydney Fish Market experience to a new level.”

Further information on the new Sydney Fish Market can be found here.