Memorial flicks on green energy power
The Australian War Memorial has switched on the largest Geothermal Heat Exchange system in the country, designed to provide sustainable heating and cooling across the Memorial’s buildings and exhibitions for the next 80 years.
The largest closed loop Geothermal Heat Exchange system in Australia, the purpose-built Central Energy Plant system uses the ground’s thermal mass and relatively consistent underground temperature throughout the year to provide heating and cooling instead of using natural gas-fired boilers and chillers.
The Director of the Australian War Memorial, Matt Anderson, said the new system dramatically reduces energy costs and greenhouse gases.
‘In an institution that honours the service of past generations, we are committed to making it sustainable for the future,’ he said.
‘It is one of the largest geothermal installations of its type in the world, with over 120 km of pipe installed to decrease the Memorial’s energy usage.
‘By harnessing our natural resources onsite, this new generation of geothermal system is estimated to potentially save the Memorial up to $1 million each year compared to the energy costs of a conventional system.’
A total of 216 vertical closed-loop boreholes have been drilled up to 150 metres deep, across the Eastern Precinct, including under the Memorial’s CEW Bean Building, the bus park and grounds.
The project is calculated to eliminate the production of up to a thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year.
‘It is the equivalent of transporting about 87,500 students a year from Sydney to Canberra return to visit the Australian War Memorial, carbon free,’ Mr Anderson said.