Toowoomba’s Southern Hotel plans to expand facilities and go solar, with a whopping six hundred and twenty nine new power-generating panels.
The pub lodged a “minor change” with its local council to erect five solar shade structures. These will cover the majority of its 172 car spaces and hold the new solar panels.
The planning report, by Precinct Urban Planning, states that the solar panels should generate up to 280kW of electricity. DS Energy, which analysed the usage, estimates that of the electricity produced around forty per cent will be sent back into the grid.
However, the pub also plans to allocate four parking bays as electric vehicle charging stations for use by patrons. If these are used at full capacity during peak periods, all electricity produced will be consumed on site.
The installation was designed so that it will not reduce the amount of parking available.
“The solar panel arrays will have a clearance height of 2.7 metres and an overall height that varies between 4.23 metres and 5.48 metres depending on the width of the array,” said Precinct Urban Planning’s report.
The rear western elevation of the hotel will be home to the inverter for the solar panels.
Should the council agree the proposed infrastructure is a minor change, the application will not require public consultation.
This follows the pub’s addition of a new restaurant and open entertainment space three years ago, to cater to the city’s rapid expansion.
The Southern Hotel has been in the family of owner-manager Richard Bowly for almost four decades.
