Background

In August 2022, NSW Public Works (NSWPW) partnered with Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) to deliver sustainable infrastructure upgrades at NSW Health sites across the Hunter New England Region.

HNELHD is aiming to achieve carbon and waste neutrality by 2030 and has developed a detailed sustainability strategy for implementation across their sites and assets. A major initiative of the strategy includes installing close to 10,000 solar panels, which will harness clean, renewable power and contribute to a more sustainable future for the region.

As of April 2025, NSWPW has delivered approximately 3.38MW of rooftop solar across 25 NSW Health sites, with an additional 9 sites planned for construction.

Our role

NSWPW provides technical leadership, project management and contract management services.

Construction safety is a critical success factor due to all work occurring in busy public hospitals. NSWPW works closely with HNELHD and the contractor to identify and manage risks.

Working within live hospital environments presents unique challenges, requiring that sites remain operational while panels are installed. Collaborating with the on-site engineering and clinical services teams, NSWPW facilitated the integration of each site with minimal impact to hospital operations and service delivery.

Access to the roof was also challenging on some sites. NSWPW worked closely with the contractor and site managers to coordinate works.

Procurement

To take advantage of the available funding, the program was procured in 2 stages based on the size of the system. Systems generating over 100kW are considered large-scale generation, requiring detailed system designs and approval.

Stage 1 involved the procurement of the small-scale systems as a single contract, and the large-scale sites formed Stage 2 once designs were approved. This meant the smaller scale sites were not contingent on the approval process and could be completed earlier to allow the LHD to make the most of the small-scale technology certificates (STCs) and energy savings.

Outcomes

A 375kW system at Belmont Hospital was energised in March 2023 following a comprehensive final inspection by high and low voltage inspectors from Ausgrid, who were impressed by the quality of the project.

Following the success of the first installation at Belmont, two other large scale photovoltaic installations were commissioned and completed in Armidale (419kW) and Tamworth (1.06MW).

Another 1526kW has been installed across 22 facilities within the region, and a further 9 sites (612kW) planned for future programs.

This program demonstrates the solar capability of NSWPW, building on the legacy of the 2.2MW system delivered at John Hunter Hospital which remains the largest rooftop solar system of any hospital in the southern hemisphere.