The Adelaide city council aims to reduce their own carbon emissions by 60% in the year 2012 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2020 together with rest of the city in Australia. The city council is determined to set a strong example and leadership, and has already implemented a number of innovative solar projects and other environment friendly actions and programs.
The council expects to reduce around 20,000 to 22,000 tons of carbon annually, which is equivalent to the emissions of nearly 3,000 homes in Adelaide. The government has allotted $1.3 million per year for the project and for other improvements.
In line with Adelaide’s efforts are a set of comprehensive programs to aid every household in the city in making the switch to solar power. Installing solar panels in Adelaide offer residents various rebates (applicable for properties in the city) together with bonuses and feed in tariff scheme currently available in South Australia. Be aware that this scheme will close on Sept 30th and to be eligible your system must be installed and have a contract in place with your electricity gird provider by then.
Aside from these rebates, the city also offers special privileges on renewable energy products and services through the city’s solar projects. Households are also entitled for a home energy audit kit loan which will give you an accurate data on how much energy you use and tips on how you can reduce your consumption. This is very valuable as recent surveys have shown that nearly 95% of Australians are concerned about rising energy costs and want more information on how the can save money in this area.
The city also provides a different set of program for business across Adelaide through the Cityswitch program. The council has partnered with other city councils in Australia to give small businesses the opportunity to better their energy consumption by providing guidelines and assistance throughout making the switch to solar power.
Adelaide’s Solar City Program is going strong, with another groundbreaking solar panel project successfully running in the city. The historic Adelaide markets, one of the busiest city districts, now has in place a 50 KW rooftop solar PV system. The installation consists of 288 solar panels and it is estimated it will reduce the market’s carbon emissions by at least 70 tons each year.
The flat roofing infrastructure of the market building provided the solar installers with a challenge to be overcome, but fortunately they were able to find a solution to enable sufficient tilting of the panels to maximise all the available sunlight and ensure the panels’ efficiency.
Dario De Bortoli, Adelaide Solar City Program Manager, said that the project is proof that solar power systems can be successfully integrated with historical buildings without any expensive renovations needed and this successful example will no doubt pave the way for other similar projects now.
Aside from installing their large solar PV system, the market is also adopting other environmental measures to make the central market as environmental friendly as possible. These include having traders diverting 90per cent of their waste from landfill each year, purchasing 50 per cent “green” and installing a charging station for cell powered electric vehicles.
The success to date of the Adelaide Solar City Program looks set to continue; the Federal Government have granted the city a $94 million fund for its future solar projects.
Solar power in Adelaide is going ahead in leaps and bounds, in addition to the markets other public places that have renewable energy systems in place already include the Watershed Sustainability Center, the Adelaide Central Bus Station, the Golden Grove Recreation and Arts Center, the Aquadome at Elizabeth Way, and the MTU Detroit Diesel Australia facility at the Key link Industrial Estate.
The residents of Adelaide can expect a lot more renewable energy projects including solar panels in the coming years as the city strives to be one of the top green cities in the country along with Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Sunshine Coast.
For the city of Adelaide to reach the target of carbon emission reduction, the city government must invest in clean and renewable energy such as solar Adelaide, wind and hydro power.
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