Blue Mountains business owners and leaders met last week to explore the challenges and opportunities of renewable energy.
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“It is heartening in the week of the Paris Conference on Climate that Mountains businesses are showing leadership on this critical issue for our planet and our economy,” said Renew your Business host Michael Skeggs.
“In the Blue Mountains, there is the added imperative for us as an eco-tourism destination to produce a light carbon footprint.”
Mr Skeggs, chair of the Blue Mountains Renewable Energy Co-op, advised the gathering that solar was the most viable renewable energy source for the Mountains.
He said that solar technologies have become more affordable. “Most businesses recoup the cost of solar panels within four to five years. This is a very fast return on a capital investment.”
Tom Colless, proprietor of Colless Foods, said the solar panels on his business provided all daytime power, halving its carbon emissions and power bills.
Michael Brischetto, co-owner of the Carrington Hotel and deputy chair of Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise, spoke about the hotel’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system that produces free electricity from its gas-heated hot water.
“Although it is not a renewable energy source, CHP has reduced the hotel's carbon emissions by 67 per cent. Our power bills have been halved,” he said.
