High above the hustle and bustle of the Royal Adelaide Show, there are some fascinating sights atop the showgrounds. (Image: Amelia Walters)
By Clem Stanley | @ClemStanley2
Show-goers can take in a birds-eye view of the show and surrounding suburbs from the top of the Goyder Pavilion on a free Rooftop Solar and Beehive Tour.
After weaving high into the pavilion, participants arrive at a viewing platform to see the vast expanse of panels, along with the two beehives nestled on the roof.
Royal Adelaide Show volunteer and rooftop tour guide, Ken Storr, says the 12,790-panel solar power installation at the Adelaide Showgrounds was once the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere.
“The installation took three months to install on all the pavilions, so there’s quite a few of them,” Storr says.
“It was a total cost of $8 million, which was largely due to a grant from the SA Government.”
Storr says the type of panel used is also different to those found on a standard house.
“These panels have an advantage in the fact that they’re an all-rounder,” he says.
“They collect energy all year round — even in dull days, light rain, everything — whereas [regular panels] require an intense amount of heat.”
Storr also says the installation produces more than a megawatt of power, making the showgrounds a registered power station.
Sitting on another side of the roof are two beehives nestled under their own shade house.
Another volunteer, Joe Hanna, says one of the beehives is well-established and the other is still in the developing stage.
“They’ve both been installed by Xannie from Xannie’s Bees,” Hanna says.
“She comes up here regularly to maintain them and make sure the bees are good and the hives are healthy.”
While it may seem better to have a beehive on the ground among the vegetation it aims to pollinate, Hanna says there is an advantage to the bees being up on the roof.
“From the roof, they can get to their food location in a direct line,” he says. “They don’t have to navigate via buildings and houses and people.
“From here, they can just zoom up and off they go to the food source.”
The Rooftop Solar and Beehive Tours depart from the Atrium West Show Kiosk hourly from 11am to 4pm, weather permitting.
Numbers are limited, so be sure to visit the kiosk early to secure a place before the Royal Adelaide Show ends tomorrow.