Gosford City Council goes solar

Gosford City Council has contracted Solgen Energy to assist in the design, commissioning and installation of solar power at seven council sites. The $900,000 solar power project — $380,000 which will be offset by the sale of renewable energy certificates — will result in the generation of 435 kW of energy through 1600 solar panels.

The Peninsula Leisure Centre is the project’s first facility to make the transition to solar power. It will be followed (in no particular order) by the Erina Depot, Central Coast Stadium, Niagara Park Sports Stadium, Gosford Regional Art Gallery, Laycock Street Community Theatre and Council Administration Building.

“This initiative means a reduction not only in council’s greenhouse gas emissions, but also our overall electricity costs,” said council CEO Paul Anderson.

“Our investigations showed that it was cheaper to install and operate a solar power system than to purchase electricity from the grid, and that the switch to solar would prove to be a much more cost-effective option for the council.”

The project is expected to result in a reduction of electricity usage costs by an expected 10% across each site, or $80,000 per year. It is also anticipated to save more than 600 tonnes of carbon emissions — the equivalent emissions produced by 100 households.

“Deploying solar power generation throughout the community allows councils to directly pass environmental and ultimately financial benefits onto all of their ratepayers,” said Solgen Energy Director David Naismith. “We are delighted to be partnering with Gosford City Council in leading the way within their community with environmentally sustainable initiatives that make financial sense.”

Anderson said the facilities’ switch to solar is on track to be completed by March 2016.