Historic goldfields school strikes solar gold with community-funded system

Chewton Primary School – located in the historic goldfields region in central Victoria – has struck gold as it received large financial support from the community to help install a 4kW rooftop solar system.

Over $3,000 of online donations and over $2,000 of school fund-raising was raised as part of a project from The People’s Solar – a community-based approach that “crowd-sources” tax deductible donations to pay for solar panels, and then reinvests the savings from energy bills to support broader community goals.

The savings made from having the solar system installed will go towards supporting learning programs at the school.

Principal Julie Holden said she is thrilled with project.  “This has been a great collaborative effort. Our parent community has really driven this project and our local community has also been very supportive,” she said in a statement.

“The result – the solar panels – will mean that we’ll save money on our energy for many years to come. We’ll then be able to invest the savings in school programs that build our connections with the community and help kids learn more about sustainability.”

Castlemaine resident and director of The People’s Solar, Tosh Szatow, says people should expect to see more such projects over the coming year. “We have over 100kW of projects coming in 2015 across Geelong, St Kilda and other parts of Victoria as part of moving to a national operation. It’s an exciting time for solar power, and an exciting time for people power.”