Alice Springs a successful solar city

For the past five years, Alice Springs has been one of seven areas taking part in the Australian Government’s Solar Cities program. The town’s successes over this time have been captured in the report ‘Alice Solar City: 2008-2013’.

Rex Mooney, the chief executive officer of the Alice Springs Town Council, explained, “From the very beginning, the Alice Springs Town Council led the development of a funding bid in response to a community groundswell to become a solar city.” When the Alice Solar City project officially finished in June last year, the town had built a national and international reputation for its efforts in solving energy issues.

More than 30% of Alice Springs’ residents and over 200 commercial organisations undertook energy efficiency audits and measures to reduce their energy use. The town went from having just two small residential solar installations in early 2008 to just over 700 systems installed on homes now. There were also several large-scale solar installations and projects, including:

• The 305 kW system at the Crowne Plaza Hotel - the largest building-mounted solar power system in Australia at the time of installation in 2009.
• The 235 kW tracking system installed in 2010 at the Alice Springs Airport, which incorporated SolFocus technology to concentrate the sun’s energy in a first for the southern hemisphere.
• A large-scale solar power station powering the Alice Springs Airport - the first instance of this in Australia. With plans for more solar in the future, the airport management is inspired to be the first airport in the world that is powered 100% by solar energy.
• The 1 MW Uterne Solar Power Station, commissioned in 2011 and acquired by Australian solar giant Epuron in 2012. This is the largest tracking solar power station in Australia, and there are future plans for expansion of this site.

These initiatives mean Alice Springs is annually saving just over 12 million kWh of energy and more than 9000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. According to Mooney, “Alice Springs now produces up to 10% of daytime energy use from solar and over 3% of annual consumption. This was 10 times the national average in 2011.”

Alice Springs also attracts interest and visits from solar and renewable experts and governments from around the world who are keen to learn about the impact of renewable technology on a community. Mooney noted that the town has become “a test tube example for other communities around the world to learn from”.

The aim of the Solar Cities program was to create a new energy future for Australia by trialling solar technologies with cost-reflective pricing, energy-efficiency measures and metering technologies. Though the project and its funding has now ended, Mooney said the town of Alice Springs “cannot waver too long and lose the momentum and traction of the scheme”.

“We will prevail to lead the solar energy community and enhance Alice Springs’ reputation as a solar city,” he said.