“I think this will detract from the heritage importance of the home as it is presented on the street,” he said. “While panels are obviously a modern feature that could be removed later, I consider this unlikely given the shift towards the use of renewable energy.”
Barnes already has hot water solar panels on the small north-facing roof of his house, so he installed the photovoltaic panels on the east-west and west-facing roofs.
He said removing the panels would reduce the total electricity generated by his home by 40%.
Boroondara City Council formally declared a climate emergency in 2021 and its action plan called for a tripling of solar energy on the roof of the municipality.
Simon Ambrose, executive director of the Victorian branch of the National Trust of Australia, said the heritage group supported the use of solar panels in heritage buildings as it made them more sustainable and encouraged their continued use.
“The transition to solar energy must be balanced with the heritage values of individual sites on a case-by-case basis, and in most places, it is possible to integrate solar technology without compromising the importance of heritage,” he said.
Somehow these anachronistic heritage guidelines defeated the fight against the climate crisis. I think it’s ridiculous.
Owner Richard Barnes
“Ideally, solar panels should be installed at the back of heritage buildings so that they are not visible from the street, especially in important areas or enclosures.”
A spokeswoman for the National Trust said different councils had taken different approaches to solar panels in heritage buildings.
A Victorian government spokeswoman said it was a council issue.
“Statewide planning provisions facilitate the absorption of solar energy on the roof and no planning permission is required in the vast majority of cases,” he said. “Issues related to local planning plans are a matter for the City Council.”
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A Boroondara City Council spokesman said the council recognized the growing need for more sustainable energy options and supported the installation of solar panels on buildings across the municipality.
“There are some places where the installation of solar panels needs to be balanced with other relevant provisions of the planning scheme,” he said. “The heritage policy allows solar panels to be installed on the parts of the roof that are generally less visible from the street, instead of those on the main roof that face the street in a heritage site.”
More than 200,000 Victorians have installed solar panels, batteries or solar hot water since 2018, as part of the government’s $ 1.3 billion solar housing program.
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