Renewable Energy Solutions
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Case Study

AstraZeneca
Project II

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Project Size:

300kW Solar Car Shade

AstraZeneca is steadily building one of Australia’s most impressive onsite clean-energy setups at their Macquarie Park campus, with Smart supporting each stage of the journey.

After completing their first solar car shade in 2023, the global pharmaceutical company commissioned the installation of a second structure to unlock more onsite solar generation.

For this installation, we shifted to a modular, prefabricated design to improve speed, safety and certainty. Combined with AstraZeneca’s existing rooftop systems and the earlier car park canopy, the campus now hosts 1.435 MW of behind-the-meter generation.

Key Project Stats

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Total Solar Deployed on Site: 1.435MW

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Prefab Pods: 63

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EV Chargers: 6 x 22kW AC

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Installation time: 5 weeks

 

THE CHALLENGE

AstraZeneca has very high energy demands and had already used all available roof space and covered their multi-storey car park with solar. Onsite generation remains a priority in their sustainability agenda, but the question was clear: how do you add more solar when the roofs are full?

The challenge was to deliver a solution with significant energy output within the existing campus footprint, and to install it fast, safely and with minimal disruption to staff parking. For these reasons, a modular care shade design was selected.

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“Modular canopies are safer because most of the work happens off site. There’s less time at heights and less time operating in a live car park, which means a smoother, safer build.”

Shaun Wells

Senior Project Manager, Smart Commercial Solar

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THE SOLUTION

AstraZeneca selected a 300kW prefabricated canopy manufactured by our partner, Canyon Solar. This choice meant most of the fabrication happened off site in controlled factory conditions, resulting in a clean, efficient installation and less time working in a live car park.

As Will Beaumont, Founder of Canyon Solar notes, their prefabricated system “shifts 80 percent of the work into our factory, which makes installation two or three times faster and much less disruptive for the client.”

The canopy incorporated high-efficiency AIKO panels to improve output. The structure also includes improved waterproofing and upgraded panel sealing to support rainwater harvesting.

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THE RESULTS

The new solar car shade gives AstraZeneca a practical way to generate more on-site energy and adds six 22 kW chargers to help with the growing shift to EVs on site.

The improved waterproofing and hidden cabling have also lifted the overall look and feel of the car park.

This project won the 2025 AIKO Commercial Solar Innovation Award, highlighting the innovative nature of the build.

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“For the second installation, we moved to a modular approach to reduce the construction time from four months down to six weeks, while also taking advantage of enhanced design features like improved panel sealing so we can harvest rainwater.”

Nathan Collett

AstraZeneca