Campdraft goes renewable
New Hope grant enables the purchase of solar panel system
THE Brymaroo Rodeo and Campdraft is going renewable with a new solar panel system made possible by a grant from coal company New Hope Group’s Community Investment Fund.
The system is on track to be installed in time for the annual Easter Saturday Brymaroo Rodeo which regularly attracts 2,000 spectators.
Committee member Cathy Wood said the solar panel system would go towards powering the rodeo’s facilities, located about 12km from the New Acland Mine, and help to provide additional electricity for the influx of competitors during events.
“As our rodeo and campdraft have grown in popularity, our committee has been working hard to continually improve our grounds and facilities,” Ms Wood said.
“During a competition weekend our grounds are full of trucks, caravans and campervans so we have to supply quite a lot of power to accommodate everyone’s electrical needs.
“The solar panels will support us in meeting demand during competitions and hopefully offset our electricity bills as we sell excess power back to the grid outside of competition times. Having our own solar panels will help us to offset one of our larger overheads allowing us to invest more into the local community infrastructure.”
The Brymaroo Rodeo and Campdraft Committee won’t be the only group to benefit from the solar system, with numerous other organisations making use of the rodeo grounds.
“Other organisations like the local Men’s Shed use our facilities,” Ms Wood said.
“The Brymaroo Pony Club has been based at our grounds since their beginning almost 30 years ago and have themselves hosted up to three events a year on the grounds.”
“We’ve had a lot of community support over the years from people like New Hope Group so we try and give back where we can.”
The Easter Saturday Brymaroo Rodeo will kick off on Friday, March 30 and close with the All Round Rodeo Main Performance on Saturday, March 31 at 4pm.