Kennon , an Australian architecture firm, has unveiled plans for a massive new project in Melbourne. The project involves an eight-story office building, dubbed 550 Spencer, which will use a cutting-edge solar facade tech comprising 1,182 solar panels to generate more electricity than it needs.

Unlike  Copenhagen’s International School , 550 Spencer’s sustainable design goes beyond simply attaching typical solar panels to the facade. Instead, it will feature a glass-like facade that uses 1,182 integrated solar panels to collect energy from the Sun’s beams. Solar facades are still uncommon, though they are not unheard of; according to Kennon, the project will result in Australia’s first solar façade building. However, since no panels were available locally, the Australian company had to go to tremendous lengths to make it happen, hiring the German company  Avancis  to supply them.

Studio founder Pete Kennon explained:

“At the time, I had been researching glazing products in operation in Europe that embody photovoltaic cells within a facade glass screen that didn’t look like the typical and ugly solar panels you see on rooftops. We started discussions with a number of manufacturers soon learning they didn’t have a presence in Australia. We designed a building facade with the product, and I pitched the concept to the client. We partnered with a local glass distributor, George Fethers & Co, and flew the executives of the product out from Germany to meet with us. We mapped the solar performance from different facade alterations optimizing the electricity production.”

The solar facade technology faced yet another challenge: it lacked an Australian building safety certificate. Kennon decided not to be discouraged and began shipping more than 40 panels. The firm constructed a copy of the facade with assistance from  Red Fire Engineers , an Australian company specializing in construction fire safety. It was set on fire to test its performance while meticulously documenting the procedure. The project moved forward with evidence of fire performance in hand and is currently being built.

Despite making up just 1% of the Earth’s surface, major cities account for 75% of the world’s primary electricity consumption and cause 80% of global greenhouse gases.

The solar facade system will produce 142 kWp once it is operational. To put it into perspective, it is comparable to between 3 and 6 kWp on a typical solar panel setup for a house. The kilowatt peak (kWp) is the amount of electricity the system produces under ideal conditions, such as a clear sunny day. Kennon claims that this will be sufficient to generate more electricity than the building needs and, in addition, will prevent the release of 78.4 tons (70 tonnes) of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually.

Another advantage of placing all the solar panels on the facade is that it frees up the rooftop area for a garden space that office workers can use. The firm  expects  550 Spencer to be complete in mid-2023.

Previously, Free State and Ghent University researchers developed transparent solar panels that could be used as windows and cell phone screens.