La Trobe gets carpark powerup

LA Trobe University’s Bendigo campus has moved closer to its goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2022, with the installation of solar panel coverings for 200 car spaces.

The 1500 solar panels have been added to the campus, nearly doubling the 3300 total cells.

La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor John Dewar said the new carport coverings mean 30 per cent of university’s power is now produced by solar.

“Not only do students and staff now have a shady place to park their cars during hot days, but with this investment we have significantly reduced the campus’ running costs, and carbon emissions,” he said.

“It’s exciting to see these carports and other initiatives come to fruition after years of planning, as we draw closer to achieving our goal of net zero carbon emissions on our regional campuses by 2022, and across the University by 2029.”

La Trobe launched its net zero initiative in 2019, with plans to have its Melbourne, Shepparton and Albury-Wodonga campuses also run entirely on renewable energy.

President of the Bendigo Sustainability Group Colin Lambie said the university sets a good example of how organisations can reduce emissions.

“Here we see an organisation that has set itself an ambitious target, and is investing a range of energy-efficient, sustainable measures to achieve a good outcome for itself, and for the community,” Mr Lambie said.

“Reducing carbon emissions and impact on the environment should be a significant focus for all organisations.”

The Bendigo campus had 6500 high-efficiency LED lights installed in 2019 and a large-scale organic waste composter has been built, which converts 100 kilograms of waste into 20 kilograms of fertiliser each day.

Additionally the campus harvests around two million litres of rainwater per year that is used to flush toilets.

Last year, La Trobe University ranked fourth in the world and third in Australia for its contribution to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, according to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.