Tag: Australia

Byron Shire, Australia

Byron Bay, NSW, Australia

  • Target: Zero-emissions renewable energy community wide by 2025
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Rooftop solar phototovolatics
  • Implementation: Byron Shire is a community of around 31,500 people located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Since 2014, the Shire has been making efforts to cut emissions  through the launch of a community-owned clean energy generator focusing on solar photovoltaic (COREM - Citizens Own Renewable Energy Mullumbimby), a strong uptake of rooftop solar and the cooperation of energy retailer ENOVA, through which Byron buys and distributes renewable energy from a range of sources. In 2015, the Shire set the goal of transitioning away from non-renewable energy sources and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero within 10 years. It aimed to be the first in Australia to achieve this goal. This commitment, prompted by a visit by the think tank Beyond Zero Energy, also built on Byron Shire's Low Carbon Strategy that laid out how municipal operations could reduce greenhouse gas and protect the community from the impacts of peak oil. The Energy Strategy would focus on the several aspects namely: renewable energy; building retrofits; electric vehicles, cycle ways and public transport; land use management and vegetation; and waste and waste water management.
  • Population: 31,556 (2016)
  • Area: 566.7 km2 (218.8 sq mi)
  • Link: https://zerobyron.org/energy/
Byron Bay, NSW, Australia

Canberra, ACT, Australia

Canberra, ACT, Australia

  • Target: 100% renewable electricity supply by 2020.
  • Status: In progress - 47MW renewable energy capacity (2013) in Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
  • RES: Wind and solar farms.
  • Implementation: Canberra covers the 100% through auctioning, meaning the purchase of electricity from several wind and solar farms. Until 2017, the government commissioned three solar and three windfarms to respectively provide 44MW and 200MW, accounting for 60% renewables. Additional 200MW wind and 50MW solar capacity are to cover the interim target of 90% by 2020. Increased annual electricity bills by 2020 are to be partly compensated by annual average savings  through the free replacement of downlights. Investments will be made in renewable research programmes and training, as well as the building of headquarters and maintenance facilities . So far, AUD $400 million local investments have been achieved in the auctioning process.
  • Population: 410,301
  • Area: 814.2 km²
  • Link: https://www.environment.act.gov.au/energy/cleaner-energy/renewable-energy-target-legislation-reporting

 

Canberra, ACT, Australia

Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia

Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia

  • Target: 100% RE by 2030, with an interim target of 25% in 2020 and 50% in 2025.
  • Status: In progress -  In 2014 already 39% of all Coffs Harbour households or businesses have installed rooftop solar PV systems.
  • RES: Solar power and energy-efficient street lighting
  • Implementation: Coffs Harbour City Council set a 100% RE as a corporate, organisational target for itself in March 2015. Although the target did not apply to the rest of the city area, its aim was to make the Council a role model of sustainability to the Coffs Harbour area. The Council committed to reducing annual corporate CO2 emissions by 25% on 2010 levels by 2020 and by 50% by 2025. In 2004, it was the first council in Australia to introduce energy-efficient street lighting across its entire local government area. In 2010, the Council installed the largest public rooftop solar power array in NSW on the top of Rigby House which saves $30,000 per annum in electricity costs. It has also installed solar panels at the local Botanic Gardens. In October 2013, Council adopted a Climate Change Policy. It adopted an energy fund for investment into efficiency works and renewables that will be financed through 10% of the difference in costs between the black and green energy purchased by Council, or AUS$100,000 a year, whichever is the greater. A Coffs Harbour Emissions Reduction Plan (CHERP) has been effective from January 2016, which sets out a framework on how the Council monitors, reviews and reports on its emissions and RE.
  • Population: 70,000 (2017)
  • Area: 1,175 km2
  • Link: https://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/news/council-sets-ambitious-energy-and-emissions-target/2579807/
Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia

Lismore, NSW, Australia

Lismore, NSW, Australia

  • Target: Generate 100% of the City Council's electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2023.
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar photovoltaic and thermal systems, hybrid wind and solar-powered off-grid streetlight.
  • Implementation: The 100% RE target set by Lismore City Council is a corporate target rather than one applied to the entire city area. The decision of the City Council was made in 2013 after an 18-months community consultation, which resulted in the community expressing the wish for Lismore to become a model of sustainability, starting with the Council itself reaching the 100% goal. The City Council's response was  to develop the 2023 Renewable Energy Master Plan in 2014, which would include various action plans. The Plan would involve two important stages. First, energy consumption should be significantly reduced with a range of energy efficiency measures, such as switching to LED lighting and installing solar PV and solar hot water systems at Council-owned sites. Second, a large-scale 3.8-4.7 MW solar plant should be constructed. In 2014, Lismore awarded a tender to Nickel Energy to install 166kW of solar PV which should save nearly $100,000 a year in electricity costs. The city also took advantage a Community Energy Efficiency Program (CEEP) which was established by the federal government of Australia to support local councils and community organisations in improving the energy efficiency of buildings, facilities and street lighting as well as delivering community education. The city conducted energy efficiency upgrades in buildings and facilities. It soon became the first local government in Australia with hybrid wind and solar-powered off-grid street lighting. Meanwhile, the energy efficiency upgrades has reduced electricity consumption within five years by 22%. Since 2013 the council has also been working together with the 'Farming the Sun' initiative to create Australia’s first community-owned solar farm consisting of two 100kW solar PV systems using a community-funded loan. Finance for the projects is being sourced from local community investors.
  • Population: 27,569 (2016)
  • Area: 1,290 km2
  • Link: https://www.lismore.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/page.asp?p=DOC-QMM-54-48-20
Lismore, NSW, Australia

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Melbourne, Australia

  • Target: 100% renewable energy
  • Status: Achieved
  • RES: Wind power
  • Implementation: The City of Melbourne is the first major city council in Australia to be 100% powered by renewable energy, achieved through the implementation of a renewable energy power purchasing agreement. The energy is sourced from a 80 MW wind farm at Crowlands, a small agricultural community about 128 miles (206 kilometers) from Melbourne. Pacific Hydro has installed twenty-five turbines, with the goal of 39 turbines. The construction of the wind farm was supported by fourteen members of the city’s leading universities, companies, councils, and cultural institutions. The city aims to lead Australia  in responding to climate change, securing a sustainable energy supply for the future and show how a major city with a AUS$92 billion economy can influence positive outcomes in regional towns. The project has created over 140 regional jobs during the construction period. It has also created eight ongoing maintenance jobs. In Crowlands, Pacific Hydro is installing a rooftop solar photovoltaic system and storage battery at the town hall. It will become one of the few town halls in the country powered by solar energy.

    The city plans to expand the project by facilitating power purchase agreements for businesses across the city. This will continue to generate investment in new renewable energy which is the cheapest cost for new build electricity generation.
  • Population: 5,000,000 (2018)
  • Area: 9,992.5 km2 (3,858.1 sq mi)
  • Link: https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-melbourne/sustainability/pages/sustainable-energy.aspx
Melbourne, Australia

Tasmania, Australia

Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia

  • Target: 100% renewable energy by 2020.
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Hydropower, windpower, rooftop solar photovoltaics.
  • Implementation: In 2013, the Tasmanian Government launched a climate action plan the "Climate Smart Tasmania: A 2020 Climate Change Strategy" which outlined the 100% target for the reduction of carbon emissions and help communities adapt to climate change. Based on research and consultation, the plan focused on energy efficiency in existing buildings, monitoring emissions and biodiversity, efficient water use, reducing barriers to utilising renewable energies, training Tasmania’s workforce, electrifying public transport as well as managing and reducing natural hazard risks in the state. By 2014, Tasmania already achieved 93% due to its large hydropower resources. The state did come close to reaching the 100% with wind energy alongside 70MW rooftop solar power. However systems were affected by an energy crisis in December 2015. Between September 2015 and April 2016, the state suffered record low rainfalls, affecting hydropower generation. In December, Tasmania had to return to the production from fossil fuels when the Basslink interconnector with the Australian mainland also failed. However, in May 2016, Tasmania announced that the island was fully powered by renewable energies. Diesel generators and the gas turbine were switched off as heavy rains eased the energy situation. The Energy Supply Plan was subsequently updated to ensure flexible energy generation by prioritising renewable energy sources, with gas and diesel maintained only as a backup system.
  • Population: 526,700 (2018)
  • Area: 68,401 km² (26,410 sq mi)
  • Link: https://reneweconomy.com.au/tasmania-labor-pitches-120-renewables-target-rooftop-solar-boost-34727/
Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia

Uralla, NSW, Australia

Uralla, Australia

  • Target: Become a decentralized, off-grid town, meeting 100% of the town's energy demand via local renewable energy generation.
  • Status: In progress - 10% of electricity from solar photovoltaics.
  • RES: Solar photovoltaics
  • Implementation: Reduce the town's energy needs  via energy efficiency upgrades to buildings and infrastructure. Change user behaviours in order to minimise personal and household energy usage. Increase the amount of local renewable energy produced in Uralla to provide for all of the community’s energy demand. The company ZNET assisting the town with the planning has worked on projects in Germany and North America. The ZNET plan focuses on renewable energy generation and integrating renewable energy technologies. It will take around 5-10 years to complete.
  • Population: 6,034
  • Area: 193.5 km²
  • Link: https://zneturalla.org.au

 

Uralla, Australia

Yackandandah, Victoria, Australia

Yackandandah, Victoria, Australia

  • Target: 100% renewable energy by 2022
  • Status: In progress
  • RES: Solar power and battery systems.
  • Implementation: The north-eastern Victorian town of Yackandandah in Australia recently noted the production of 1GWh of locally generated renewable energy, thus reaching the half-way point of its transition to 100 per cent renewables by 2022. Led by community energy organisation Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY), the town has installed solar and some battery systems, on over half of its households and community buildings. TRY's second solar purchasing offer (with battery storage) was recently launched in partnership with Mondo Power, a subsidiary of network operator AusNet Services to help communities shift to renewables. Work is also underway on a state government funded mini-grid project which will trial the use of solar, storage, and smart controls to manage network security along a Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) power line. An earlier mini-grid in the town was installed in 2017, linking almost 200 homes fitted with a combination of rooftop solar, battery storage, and smart controls. Today, the town has two functioning micro-grids, allowing customers to share power amongst themselves. TRY is now working with the local community to set up a community owned energy retailer, which will help the town reach the 100 per cent target.
  • Population: 950 (2011)
  • Link: https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/victorian-town-notches-up-1gwh-of-locally-generated-renewable-energy-on-road-to-100/
Yackandandah, Victoria, Australia