Zeroing in on emissions

Council installing 200 extra solar panels

A CITY of Greater Geelong program to cut carbon emissions will add almost 200 solar panels to the rooftops of council-owned buildings in coming weeks.

Once completed, the city’s extended solar panel system will prevent the production of an average of two tonnes of greenhouse gases every day.

The latest panels will bring the city’s total to 1877 installed on eight buildings through council’s Zero Carbon Buildings Program.

The 508kW of installed solar panels is estimated to save more than 750 tonnes of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere each year through the generation of 66,198 kWh of energy.

“The city is committed to making our building stock more energy efficient and more cost effective,” council services director Guy WilsonBrowne said.

“Cutting our energy consumption brings the dual benefit of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and lowering our power bills.

“We want to reduce the city’s own ecological and carbon footprint, while helping the community to do the same.”

New 30kW solar systems — at 96 panels each — will be installed at the Waurn Ponds Library and Grovedale Community Hub in coming weeks.

Eight of the city’s buildings will host the solar panel systems once the latest pair are completed, including Leisurelink (384 panels), Bellarine Aquatic and Sports Centre (384), Anakie Rd operations depot (308), National Wool Museum (263), Splashdown (196) and The Grove Community Centre (114).

The cost of each solar system is typically covered within about five years through renewable energy generation and energy efficiency improvements, the council claims.

The Zero Carbon Buildings Program is part of a push to achieve the Zero Carbon Emission Strategy, which aims to reduce energy costs and cut corporate emissions by 50 per cent by 2020.

Council adopted the strategy in 2017, and has subsequently introduced the solar systems, lighting upgrades, automated building control systems and upgraded heating and cooling measures at city buildings.

Carbon emissions at Leisurelink — the city’s highest energy-consuming building — fell by 18.6 per cent over the two years to 2017-18.