Cate Blanchett takes the lead in Sydney Theatre green production

Sydney Theatre Co (STC) will be home to one of the largest capacity building-mounted solar arrays in Australia as part of a green initiative led by actress Cate Blanchett.

STC is housed in The Wharf, a heritage-listed building along the Sydney Harbour. The theatre group last week announced that a 2,000 panel rooftop solar system will be installed by 2010, allowing The Wharf to use 70 per cent less power from the grid.

Funding for the 500kW array will come from a $960,000 grant from the federal government's Green Precincts Fund, in addition to philanthropic donations.

Among the private donors is the family foundation of Zhengrong Shi, chief executive of Suntech Power, which has commited $1.6m to the project. Suntech solar panels will be used in the array.

The total cost of the project was not disclosed, but the solar installation will form part of a $3.7m Greening The Wharf initiative overseen by Blanchett and husband Andrew Upton, who are STC's artistic directors.

The scheme also includes the adoption of energy efficiency practices – including lighting and building management system upgrades – which will reduce STC's carbon emissions by an estimated 555 tonnes annually.

A rainwater harvesting, storage and distribution system will also be installed to supply all of The Wharf's non-portable water.

STC estimates that over the next 25 years, its green scheme will save 37.5 million litres of water, save 5GWh of energy and generate 10.3GWh of power via the solar array.