More than 60 community facilities across northern Victoria have been approved for solar power installations as part of the Victorian Government’s $9.2 million Solar on Public Buildings Program.
State Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes congratulated the recipients of the program and said that it was supporting community organisations to reduce their energy costs while cutting emissions.
“It is a terrific outcome for communities, the environment and our hard-working volunteer committees who are the backbone of our small communities across northern Victoria,” Ms Symes said.
“It is wonderful to see so many local volunteer committees of management benefiting from a program that helps them reduce costs and helps us tackle climate change.”
The program is being rolled out across the state during the next two years, with more than 300 public buildings in Victoria being assessed for suitability for a solar installation — providing an economic boost to local energy auditors and installers.
Many community groups in the region are already seeing cost savings thanks to a reduction in their power bills.
More than 200 energy audits — the first step in the design of a solar power system — have been carried out on selected sites around the state.
An energy monitoring module will be integrated into the design to monitor solar system performance in real time, and battery installations will be considered for some sites.
The program was first trialled in Gippsland from 2017 to 2019 and led to solar power systems being installed on 69 public buildings on public land, reducing power bills by an average of 81 per cent.
The Solar on Public Buildings Program covers the cost of site assessments and the supply and installation of solar power PV systems on public buildings managed by volunteers on land managed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
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