Council has reduced its carbon emissions by upgrading street lights to LEDs and installing solar panels on council sites.
It is all part of a plan to reduce emissions to zero by 2025, helping both the environment and the dollar bottom line.
The new street lights and solar panels have out-performed their original estimates - both for reducing carbon emissions and reducing electricity consumption.
In the first six months, the solar panels installed across five large council sites have generated a significant saving of $31,200 in power bills. This is 50 per cent higher than originally estimated. The switch to solar power has also reduced emissions by 160 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
The second round of street light upgrades, completed towards the end of last year, targeted 36 per cent of street lights in the Blue Mountains. So far the project has seen a very positive 32 per cent reduction in monthly electricity consumption. Using the first four months of data, this puts council on track to reduce emissions by 759 tCO2e and achieve $163,000 of savings over the year.
Overall, both projects will deliver $225,000 of combined annual energy savings and reduce carbon emissions by 1,080 CO2e.
Over the next 20 years, the total energy savings is estimated at a staggering $4.5 million (assuming static electricity prices) and a huge cumulative reduction of 21,580 tonnes of CO2e being released into the atmosphere.
The mayor, Mark Greenhill, said: "Not only does it benefit the environment to reduce emissions wherever possible, but it makes great financial sense. A real win, win in our minds."
Council CEO, Dr Rosemary Dillon, said: "This provides the impetus we need to prioritise other opportunities to reduce emissions in line with our target of carbon neutrality by 2025 - minimising council's environmental impact and saving money in the long term."
It's a quick win for households to upgrade to LED lighting too. Check the https://energysaver.nsw.gov.au/ website for info on their discounted energy efficient lighting program.
Also the NSW Government's Empowering Homes program has been expanded to Blue Mountains postcodes, helping local home owners access interest-free loans to install solar battery systems.
If you don't need a solar battery system, solar panels are being subsidised by the NSW Government through the Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme. Speak to a solar supplier to understand the savings. It's much more affordable than you think and, just like council, you'll quickly benefit from lower power bills.
