Clarence Valley Council,
media release, 29 November 2018:
Council aims to be
greenhouse gas emission free
THE Clarence Valley
Council has set a target to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by
2050.
The first step in
reaching that target will be to cut greenhouse gas emissions (excluding
landfill emissions) to 40% below 2016/17 levels by 2030.
It has also adopted a
target of supplying half of its own electricity demand from renewable energy sources
by 2030, with the long-term goal to secure all electricity from renewable
energy.
Council’s waste and
sustainability coordinator, Ken Wilson, said council had engaged consultants,
100% Renewable, to help with the development of renewable energy and greenhouse
gas emission reduction targets in line with council’s climate change policy.
“Their report shows
council is performing well, with about 8.3% of the energy used by council
coming from renewable energy – primarily rooftop solar,” he said.
“Council currently has
646.3kw of PV Solar generating capacity.
“To achieve the
short-term target the report assessed 47 initiatives involving solar
photovoltaic and battery storage, street and park lighting, and energy
efficiency costing in the order of $5,764,794.
Council plans to
implement these measures over five years, which should help council meet its
targets and achieve financial savings well before 2030.
“These initiatives have
a payback of between four and eight years. Initiatives involving battery
storage are expected to become more cost effective over the next few years,
which will improve the payback period.
“Anticipated savings
will be reflected in facility operating costs and will be ongoing. The average
payback period is 6.5 years.
“These projects do not
include a current proposal under investigation to develop a mini-hydro system
at the Rushforth Road reservoir.
“The recommended targets
are considered achievable and cost-effective.”
Release ends.
No comments:
Post a Comment