Queenscliff wants to supply own power
QUEENSCLIFF’S council plans to lobby the State Government for funding to explore the possibility of establishing its own power supply.
It is hoped the project will cut carbon emissions and lead to a more reliable power supply for the growing coastal community.
The Borough of Queenscliffe’s power is supplied by Powercor, the state’s largest electricity distribution company.
Cr Tony Francis said the plan presented the borough with the opportunity to be a leader on climate change.
“Both state and federal governments, both sides of politics have floundered on climate change and I think from a community point of view everyone is pretty sick of the lack of direction on all sides when it comes to this,” he said.
“This is a real opportunity for our local government to stand up and start to do something.”
The project has been marked as a priority for the borough ahead of November’s state elections.
Cr Bob Merriman said the idea of moving towards an in- dependent energy source was one of the most exciting projects council had considered in the past 10-12 years.
“Many of us suffered in the recent heatwave by losing power,” he said.
The plan is one of several priority projects discussed at a council meeting on Thursday.
The Queenscliff Community Hub will be the top priority presented to state candidates for funding opportunities.
Cr Merriman said there was a need to change the hub in respect to the people who worked as volunteers in the buildings.
“It’s a very important development for the borough,” he said.
The project would see the existing library and museum buildings linked, improvements to the open area in front of the hub and increased energy efficiency. The link would see an increase in available space of about 25 per cent.
The borough will seek $1.5 million each from the state and federal governments to fund the project, contributing $100,000.
The council’s 2017-18 implementation plan and budget includes investigation of an independent power supply being developed by the borough.