With rising cost of electricity in mind, Harelec was commissioned by Gowing Brothers Pty Ltd to investigate suitable methodologies to reduce the overall consumption at the Port Central Shopping Centre complex. Port Central is the premier shopping centre in Port Macquarie. With more than 50 specialised stores and located in the centre of Port Macquarie, it was a high power usage site.

Annual consumption at the site was 1,880,000 kilowatt hours per annum which meant that identification of multiple methodologies was critical to achieving the reductions that the project principles required.

While solar power was seen as an essential step in the process, Harelec identified numerous other efficiency measures that when combined with the 99.45kW solar power system has achieved reduction in annual consumption of 1,240,000 kilowatt hours per annum, a reduction of 67% in power consumption. These initiatives and energy savings resulted in Port Central achieving a 5 Star NABERS Energy rating, the first shopping centre in Australia to acheive this accolade.