Adelaide City adds more solar, battery storage on road to carbon neutral

Adelaide City has announced plans for another solar PV and battery storage project, this time to be installed at the Council’s London Road Depot, resulting in savings of $56,000 a year.

The new solar and battery project was announced on Thursday, along with an LED lighting upgrade at its Grote Street UPark, which would result in savings of $64,000 a year for the Council.

The two projects –  subject to Council approval next week – are part of the Carbon Neutral Adelaide Energy Efficiency Project. On Tuesday, the South Australian government and Adelaide City Council jointly launched the Carbon Neutral Adelaide Action Plan 2016-2021 which sets out actions to make Adelaide the world’s first carbon neutral city.

“Council has committed to exhaust all reasonable and cost effective carbon reduction projects in its pursuit of carbon neutral operations by 2020 and a carbon neutral city by 2025 or earlier,” said City of Adelaide Lord Mayor Martin Haese.

“In the past five years, Adelaide City Council has reduced energy use in its own operations by 15.5 per cent. We are implementing cost effective technologies to deliver substantial financial and carbon emissions savings for our community as part of our strategy to make Council’s operations carbon neutral by 2020.

“These projects will build upon the $800,000 of annual savings that previous energy efficiency projects have already secured for our community. This year, LED lighting and smart controls have reduced energy use in Pirie Street UPark by up to 62 per cent,” he said.

The City has also rolled out several schemes encouraging and supporting residents, business, and property owners to cut energy consumption, including Solar Savers Adelaide, which gives low-income earners and rental property tenants access to solar PV without the upfront cost.

Last month, the Council launched another sustainability initiative that will see at least 40 electric vehicle charging stations installed throughout the city, including 10 charging points in the Adelaide Central Market UPark by the end of 2017.

The scheme will also provide generous incentives for the installation of private electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with up to $5,000 on offer for each EV charging point, and up to $250 for each electric bicycle point.