New solar panels to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
by Brighton Community News
Next time you’re going past the Civic Centre, look up at the roof!
The latest solar panel installation on a Brighton Council managed building is now complete. A 26.5kW system with 68 solar panels has been installed on the roof of the Civic Centre and will generate electricity for roughly a third of the building’s annual energy use.
Mayor Leigh Gray said, “Using electricity generated onsite lowers Brighton Council’s greenhouse footprint and helps us to reach our climate action goal to reach zero emissions from our operations by 2040. Even though Tasmania has a high percentage of renewables in the electricity mix we are still saving 103,600 kilograms of carbon dioxide over the life of the Civic Centre system.”
Council rooftop solar investments have paid off in more ways than one. Solar electricity generation is doing a considerable amount of work to provide for daily energy needs. In the summer months this can provide over half the energy use, as was the case at the Council Offices in February this year. Brighton Council also contributes to increasing solar electricity for everyone using the grid by exporting over 30,000 units each year. At the same time our rooftop solar is buffering the impact of electricity price hikes and commercial penalty tariffs for using too much power at the one time.
“It’s just a win win situation and I urge consumers, where it is appropriate, to install solar if you can while national subsidies for smaller solar systems are still available as they are being phased out over time”, said Mayor Gray. “Every bit of greenhouse gas emission reduction matters to reduce the impact of global warming.”
For further Brighton climate change action visit www.brighton.tas.gov.au and for more information on Australian Government subsidies head to www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au
