Renewable Energy Solutions
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Case Study

Ventora

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Project Size:

3MW Rootop Solar across seven sites + Zero-Capex PPA

 

Key Project Stats

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Total Solar Capacity: 3MW

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Zero-capex PPA

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Portfolio-wide energy transition

ABOUT VENTORA GROUP

VENTORA operates over 40 facilities and employs more than 4,000 people globally. As Australia’s largest manufacturer of windows and doors, the organisation consumes significant energy across fabrication, assembly and distribution.

According to Scott Kelly, CEO of The VENTORA Group, the company’s Think Green, Think VENTORA program reflects a more deliberate push to embed sustainability into the business, reduce its environmental footprint and bring greater certainty to a critical manufacturing input: energy.

 

INTRODUCTION

A 3MW solar rollout across seven manufacturing sites, delivered without upfront capital and without interrupting production.

This was the outcome of the VENTORA Group’s push to maximise solar deployment across its portfolio, reducing energy costs and emissions as much as possible within the constraints of its facilities and a preference for zero upfront investment.

As Australia’s largest manufacturers of windows and doors, energy is a core input into day-to-day operations. Managing that cost, and the risk that comes with it, is critical to long-term performance.

Working alongside VENTORA’s ESG, executive and finance teams, Smart Commercial Energy helped shape and deliver a portfolio-wide solution that balanced operational constraints, financial outcomes and sustainability targets across seven sites in three states.

 

THE CHALLENGE

For VENTORA, the challenge was not just deploying solar. It was doing it in a way that worked commercially and operationally across the entire portfolio.

The project needed to:

  • be installed safely within active production environments
  • account for varied building conditions and ageing infrastructure
  • avoid any disruption to manufacturing or logistics
  • meet internal sustainability targets
  • proceed with no upfront capital investment

Delivering solar at this scale meant coordinating seven live manufacturing sites across three states, each with different operational, structural and electrical constraints.

 

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“This project has two real benefits for our organisation. The first is on the commercial side of things, where we're paying less for our electricity. And as a manufacturer in Australia, that's really important. The second part around the ESG piece and reducing our scope 2 emissions, is absolutely critical.” 

Scott Kelly

CEO, VENTORA

SHAPING THE RIGHT SOLUTION

Before a single panel was installed, this project required careful upfront work to align operational realities, financial constraints, and sustainability targets across the portfolio.

Over a two-year period, Smart Commercial Energy worked closely with VENTORA’s internal stakeholders to understand their energy use across sites and shape a solution that delivered both environmental and financial outcomes.

From the outset, the project was managed personally by Anastasi Kotoros of Smart’s leadership team, carrying it from initial concept through to rollout and ensuring it was delivered properly.

Our General Manager, Kathryn Hoogesteger states, “We worked very closely with VENTORA to help them understand what would be best for their portfolio. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach: we made sure we reviewed their whole portfolio, the shape of their energy and what was going to be the best solution to achieve their sustainability targets.”

 

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THE SOLUTION

Portfolio-led design

Smart Commercial Energy approached the rollout as a single, interconnected portfolio rather than a series of individual installations.

This allowed the program to be staged and structured as a whole, balancing performance, constructability and commercial outcomes across all seven sites. It also enabled a funding model that worked at a portfolio level, rather than needing each site to stand alone.

Engineering for real-world conditions

Across the seven sites, electrical infrastructure varied significantly. In several cases, upgrades were required to unlock the intended system capacity.

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“Once the seven sites were identified, working with Smart, we soon came across some challenges in aged electrical infrastructure, but the engineers within Smart have managed to find viable solutions that haven't impacted the project scope. In fact, they have increased the delivered solar and enabled VENTORA to upgrade some of that ageing infrastructure” 

Julian Freeland

ESG Manager and Project Lead, VENTORA

Zero-capex delivery through a PPA

A critical part of the project was structuring a funding model that removed the need for upfront capital while still delivering strong financial outcomes.

Because the rollout was designed at a portfolio level, the commercial structure could also be developed across all sites, enabling a single, coordinated PPA rather than seven individual agreements.

Green Peak Energy, acting as the solar asset funder and owner/operator for the duration of the PPA, worked closely with VENTORA and Smart Commercial Energy to ensure alignment across technical and commercial risks.

The Chief Operating Officer at Green Peak Energy, Hamed Fararoui states, “Smart Commercial had done a substantial amount of due diligence with respect to the physical sites. We were brought in quite early to ensure that both construction risk and ongoing operation and commercial risks were understood and managed throughout the whole process.”

Smart Zero™: Energy and carbon visibility

The rollout also integrated Smart Zero, providing VENTORA with visibility across energy performance and emissions at both site and portfolio level.

Smart Zero brings an organisation’s energy management and carbon reporting together in one platform, allowing them to measure, track and report emissions with clarity and confidence.

“Included in our PPA is Smart Zero carbon accounting. This offers an exciting opportunity to track the performance at a site and portfolio level but also serve many other masters in terms of our annual reporting that we have to now do.” said Julian Freeland, ESG Manager and Project Lead, VENTORA.

This enables tracking of Scope 2 reductions from solar, alongside broader Scope 1, 2 and 3 reporting requirements, linking energy performance directly to reporting outcomes.

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THE IMPLEMENTATION

Despite the scale and complexity, the rollout was delivered without disrupting operations. Scott Kelly, CEO of VENTORA said, "The experience so far has been relatively seamless. My team have been working very closely with the providers, and the contractors were on site all the time together. And it's worked incredibly well.”

This is because we had careful coordination across all stakeholders, ensuring consistent delivery standards and safe integration within live manufacturing environments.

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THE RESULTS

  • Reduced reliance on grid electricity, lowering energy costs
  • Approximately 16% progress toward VENTORA’s 25% emissions reduction target by 2030
  • Improved visibility of energy and carbon performance via Smart Zero
  • Upgraded infrastructure across key sites
  • A platform for future initiatives including batteries and EV charging

With solar embedded across the portfolio, VENTORA is now positioned to take the next step in its energy strategy.

 

 

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CONCLUSION

Delivering solar across seven sites in three states, with no upfront capital and no disruption to operations, is not straightforward.

This project demonstrates what can be achieved when technical delivery, financial structuring and long-term planning are aligned from the outset.

The result is not just a solar rollout, but a coordinated energy solution that reduces costs, cuts emissions and gives VENTORA greater control over its energy future.