Renewable energy
We’re investing in renewable technologies to support local climate resilience and reduce environmental impact.
Explore our projects
La Trobe Solar Farm
Starting in October 2023 and completed in early 2025, we built Victoria’s largest urban solar farm at our Melbourne Campus in Bundoora, located at the corner of Plenty Road and Kingsbury Drive. The 3.5-hectare Solar Farm is a key milestone in our journey to carbon neutrality by 2029 and a flagship project in our Net Zero program.
Key features
- 2.9-megawatt (MW) solar energy system paired with a 2.5 MW / 4.5 MWH Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), bringing total solar generation at the Melbourne Campus to 5.8 megawatts.
- Emissions are expected to reduce by 15%.
- 4,300 solar panels generate enough renewable energy to offset emissions for 600 households, equivalent to the entire neighbouring suburb of Kingsbury.
- 100% of the energy generated is used at the Melbourne Campus.
The BESS will be crucial in capturing solar energy and stabilising the grid, ensuring a steady supply of clean power.
As part of our sustainability efforts, we’re planting 40,000 plants and 600 trees, focusing on indigenous species from our Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary to support biodiversity.
Battery Energy Storage System
As part of the La Trobe Solar Farm project, we installed a 2.5MW/4.5MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in early 2025. The BESS is vital in capturing the solar energy generated by the solar farm, stabilising the grid and ensuring a steady supply of clean power.
Check out the solar farm
Melbourne Campus rooftop solar
We’ve installed over 7,500 solar panels on more than 25 buildings at the Melbourne Campus – the equivalent of 17 kms of solar panels – or the distance between our Melbourne (Bundoora) and City campuses.
It generates 2.5 MW of renewable power, equivalent to 500 household solar systems. At peak solar efficiency, it supplies over 50% of the campus’ daytime power usage during peak periods.
This solar system reduces La Trobe’s CO2 emissions by 4,000 tonnes annually, helping us combat climate change. Read more about the launch of our rooftop solar system.
See our rooftop solar panels
Bendigo Campus solar carports
We’ve built two solar carports in Car Parks 1 and 2 at our Bendigo campus, generating 650kW of renewable energy – enough to power 130 households. The carports feature nearly 1,500 solar panels, covering nearly 200 parking spaces.
Over 30% of the campus's electricity consumption is now powered by on-site renewables, a major milestone in reaching the campus’s carbon neutral target by 2022.
Read more about the project in Bendigo.
View our solar carports
Albury-Wodonga Campus solar carport
A second solar carport was added at the Albury-Wodonga campus, featuring 270 panels and 110kW of renewable energy capacity – enough to power 25 households.
Over 40% of the campus’s electricity is now generated by on-site renewables, marking a key milestone in achieving carbon neutral target by 2022.
Bendigo Campus rooftop solar
In 2021, rooftop solar panels were installed on the GDP, SSC and ED buildings. Combined with the solar carports, campus now generates 1,157kW of renewable energy from 3,875 solar panels.
Mildura Campus rooftop solar and battery
In 2021, we completed the installation of a 130kW rooftop solar system at our Mildura campus – enough to power 25 homes. At peak efficiency, the system covers over 100% of the campus' daytime energy needs.
The excess renewable energy produced is stored on-site via our Tesla Power Wall Battery System for future use.
Our regional campuses are carbon neutral
Find out how we achieved carbon neutral certification across our four regional campuses.