A Brighter Side To Carpet Manufacturing

At Feltex, efforts to advance our shared mission of a more sustainable future continue. Having already fitted 436 solar panels on our warehouses in Truganina and Laverton, we’ve now completed our largest ever installation. 

Plant 5, our North Geelong carpet tufting facility, is now the proud owner of a 500kW solar system. Covering 12,000m2 of the facility’s roof, the 1,088 460W panels generate up to 1.97MWh of clean energy per day, offsetting over 60% of daytime electricity.  This will help to power the production of over 16,000 lineal metres of carpet each day and reduce electricity bills at the Plant by an average of 28%.

To deliver this transformation, we used Tier 1 JA Solar 460W monocrystalline solar panels on the north facing side of the Plant, together with SolarEdge three phase inverters and optimisers. Recognised amongst the best bankable solar technology globally, the optimisers increase system production by tracking the maximum power of each panel.

The smart meter technology from SolarEdge also provides load monitoring, so we can see how much solar power is being consumed on site and exported. Plus, real-time monitoring of individual panels, making it easy to find and diagnose any faults.

A local solution to a global problem

As a proud Australian and New Zealand manufacturer, it’s important to us that we source and develop local solutions where possible. 
    
By transforming the Plant 5 roof into an energy resource, we’re not only cutting operating costs locally, but carbon emissions globally. 
It’s another Resource Stewardship initiative that supports our Climate Active Carbon Neutral Organisation certification to cut greenhouse gas emissions across the entire business.

Now at Plant 5, any surplus solar not consumed by the plant will be exported to the grid, and we’ll offset approximately 515 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Our vision for sustainability has always been Believe in Better®, with a focus on innovating for a better tomorrow.

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Authored date: 17/04/2023

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