Recognition For Renewable Energy Innovation
Laing O'Rourke has won the 2015 Green Globe Award for environmental innovation.
The awards, now in their 16th year, celebrate innovative environmental achievements and resource-saving measures from businesses, government and community groups across NSW.
Laing O’Rourke’s submission featured SunSHIFT, the world's first large-scale, fully redeployable, solar-diesel hybrid power system for off-grid areas. The portable renewable power plant aims to provide a flexible alternative energy source and reduce the costs and emissions of high diesel use by rural and remote businesses, infrastructure sites and communities.
Laing O’Rourke Managing Director Cathal O’Rourke praised the thinking that had gone into developing SunSHIFT, which had been a collaborative effort by the company’s internal research and development, manufacturing, plant and transport and operational business units.
“SunSHIFT is an example of how engineering can solve important environmental and logistics challenges,” Mr O’Rourke said.
“The 1 MW hybrid solar diesel plant includes 144 kWp of solar PV and has successfully supplied power to an accommodation village for one of our large construction projects in regional Queensland. The system was delivered, unpacked and fully functional in one week.”
Laing O’Rourke has also developed an interactive calculator that can be used to explore the diesel savings of SunSHIFT, and associated carbon reductions.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) partnered with Laing O’Rourke to develop SunSHIFT.
“The Green Globes win follows hot on the heels of Laing O’Rourke being named the 8th most innovative business in Australia by BRW, for the second year in a row,” Mr O’Rourke said.
“Laing O’Rourke is committed to the continual pursuit of innovation to secure Australia’s sustainable infrastructure future.”