Sunshine Coat’s Solar Potential

Aside from being one of Australia’s top getaway destinations the Sunshine Coast has a lot to offer from a solar power point of view as well; it was named the Sunshine Coast for a reason! The region enjoys many days of long hours of strong sunlight, and even in winter months temperatures and solar radiation are still at a reasonable level.

This amount of sun makes Sunshine Coast as a perfect candidate for becoming a largely solar powered city. All 311,900 hectares of the area is blessed with limitless solar power potential. Currently solar power on the Sunshine Coast is well accepted because of the tireless efforts of the local government conducting awareness campaigns, forums and public meetings regarding climate change and how each resident can make a difference. Just this month the city council is conducting a month long sessions in its libraries to teach people how solar PV systems work and the benefits they would receive from installing it.

Solar power’s success in the region does not entirely rest with its natural blessings; government funding and rebates have also played an essential role. Currently the coast is operating under the generous premium feed in tariff scheme together with federal and state government rebates which make a solar investment here one of the most financially rewarding in the nation.

Solar experts and analysts have said that the Sunshine Coast’s residents have embraced solar power more thoroughly compared to other cities primarily because of the supportive environment that the local government has striven to achieve. Many cities and local governments are presenting how they could save money and save the environment with solar panels but what Sunshine Coast is trying to achieve is something more than that.Feeling privileged to live in such a beautiful and unspoilt part of the world brings a strong incentive to protect that for future generations.

As proof to that just recently (June 5^th) the city held a large scale solar event to coincide with the World Environment Day celebrations. The event was packed with practical ideas and education and event goers brought home both the solutions and a social responsibility to reduce their carbon footprints.

With all the efforts of the local government, the private sector and the community combined with the Coast natural blessings it is possible to see a small rural region to rise up highly in the race to solar independence by the year 2020.