Harper Sercombe
Epping’s Melbourne Market has repurposed their rooftop car park to the largest rooftop solar panel system in greater north-eastern Victoria.
The market is a wholesale fruit, vegetable and fresh-cut flower trading centre, that runs on a 67-hectare site at Epping.
The system, which is only stage one of a three-stage project, was switched on at the beginning of May and is expected to offset 10 per cent of the wholesale market’s annual energy usage.
More than 5000 solar panels were placed across a newly built loading zone and an existing warehouse. The carbon emissions it will offset is likened to the equivalent of planting 34,381 trees every year.
Last financial year the market achieved an impressive 98 per cent recycling rate through donation partnerships with Foodbank, FareShare and Melbourne Zoo.
Another initiative the market has is through their partnership with Yarra Valley Water, which converts organic waste, not fit for consumption into energy.
Melbourne Market chief executive Mark Maskiell said the development is one of the largest rooftop instalments in Australia.
“We have a strong commitment to reducing our environmental impact and ensuring the market is environmentally sustainable for many years to come,” he said.
“Turning on our rooftop solar panels is an exciting milestone.”
