Green Heart Program Makes Brisbane More Sustainable

The City Council of Brisbane together with the community has devised a set of programs to aid the city’s residents with the rising electric bills and to fulfill the city’s goal to become the most sustainable city in Australia and make great cuts to our carbon emission.

The program is divided in to three parts, to aid individual residents in the best way possible for them-

1)The Green Heart Homes Program will be family centered;aiding families who want to make a real difference for the future of the city. The city council has implemented rebates and incentives together with solar power information sessions. The green heart homes program also tackles water efficiency systems and guidelines on how to protect the environment for every family.

The Green Heart homes program has proven its worth by taking the lead in water conservation and environmental cleaning, and is now aiming to reduce carbon emissions significantly.

The second part of the program is the Green Heart Schools; across Brisbane schools are now turned to a sustainable eco-friendly facility achieved through social mobilisation and careful planning. Currently Bulimba State School, Cannon Hill State School, Jamboree Heights State School, Oakleigh State School and Our Lady of Mount Carmel School are all green schools considering carbon reduction in every aspect and environmental protection.

The program not only aims to directly protect the environment but also to serve as a great example to its studentsand to impart a green heart in everyone that walks the corridors of the schools and to create a strong sense of leadership for environmental protection to its graduates.

The 3^rd part of the program is the Green Heart Business; the city council is offering rebates and incentives from small to large scale business to encourage them to have a better and more sustainable future and profits. The goal is to reduce carbon emissions without putting the burden on the commercial sector of the city. The council offers information on how solar panels and other green investments can help them in improving their production and reducing fixed costs and bills.

Collectively the Green Heart programs are centered on the important causes of environmental protection & reducing carbon emissions as well as the cost of living for Brisbane residents. As part of this the city council sees more solar power in Brisbane as the way of the future, as hopefully they will continue to support these valuable green initiatives.

Great Strides towards a Sustainable Brisbane

Looking at what is happening in Brisbane today, the city had come a long way in its quest to become one of Australia’s most sustainable green cities. The efforts of Brisbane’s City Council together with assistance from the State Government efforts are firmly focused in the transition of the city towards solar power, andall other aspects required to create a more eco-friendly environment for its residents.

The city is currently under the umbrella of the Queensland solar bonuses and rebates which alone are sufficient; however the solar rebates don’t stop there. The city is eager to make solar power in Brisbane an ongoing part of life, not just a short term trend.

 As a result the council has formulated various plans and schemes to make the switch solar energy easier, as well as educate about the reduction it will bring to energy costs for families and businesses.

For instance the EzyGreen project allows residents to choose what renewable energy options best suits their household and family and provides additional financial assistance on top of what the Queensland government is currently providing.

The Green Hearts program of Brisbane is another holistic approach towards a sustainable future. The program will be assisting the community in aspects of a green economy from schools to households to businesses. The Green hearts program is like many other programs across the country; however the council made sure that it will stand out from the rest by aiding the community extensively throughout the transition.

Aside from encouraging the installation of solar panels in Brisbane the local government also identified solar hot water systems to be a promising way of reducing the strain that electricity bills are causing for so many, as well as reducing carbon emissions. A rebate of $1000 will be given to pensioners who own an eligible system and a $600 rebate for non-pensioners. The city said that solar hot water is currently the cheapest and most accessible form of renewable energy source and it should be given the same credit as that of the solar PV’s

The city’s efforts are making great strides already; a climate change advocate website gave credit to the city and said that at the rate Brisbane is going it can reach grid parity earlier than expected. Grid parity will mean that non carbon intensive produced energy will be the same price as standard grid electricity by 2015, and may even be cheaper.

Australian Government Program for Funding Solar Power in Schools

The federal government of Australia has established the Australian Government’s National Solar Schools Program (NSSP) to assist schools across the country to reduce their environmental impact by installing solar PV panels and solar hot water together with other sustainability measures.

The program will grant eligible schools up to $50,000 to fund the installation of solar PV panels, solar hot water systems, rain water tanks, and other energy efficient equipment. Schools who have applied before September 30th of this year will be qualified for the 2011-2012 financial year, and those who missed the application deadline can still apply for the 2012-2013 round early next year.

The program aims to deliver three major goals; reducing energy bills and saving schools money, reducing the schools environmental impacts, and to teach our children how to value the environment and how renewable energy will be a key factor in their future.

Since the commencement of the program in 2007 more than 7000 schools have registered for the program (nearly 2000 applications for 2010-2011round alone) and about 2000 schools have their new system fully installed and functional. A total of $128 million dollarshas been spent as of April 2011 for program, which will continue until June 2013.

Some major universities in the country have also installed solar PV panel systems to achieve the same goal, the Monash University in Victoria has installed a 112KWh system capable of powering 25 average sized rooms in the Clayton campus with a computer controlled monitoring system to record generated electricity from the system.

Also the Murdoch University in Western Australia has installed a 26KW system in the campus’ library to reduce their carbon emissions and for research purposes as well. The University will conducting research on amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon solar panels and will soon open a new chapter in quantum dots and nano technology applications.

Just recently the University of Queensland unveiled the largest flat panel solar panel system in the country; the 1.75 MW array will reduce the University’s carbon emission by 1770 tons per year.  Mainly the project will be used to further research and development of solar technology, and the collected data from the system will serve as the framework of the study.

Several Universities have also made groundbreaking research and discoveries in the solar field. The University of NSW has recently found a way to increase solar panel efficiency up to 19.3% while still keeping production cost at a record low.

This proves that cost effective solar power can be integrated with all aspects of our community, serving its primary purpose of saving money and reducing greenhouse gases while allowing research and development to take place that will continue to reduce the cost of renewable energy technology.

Australia’s Renewable Energy Potential

Australia has the highest average solar radiation per square inch in any continent in the world and the country can capitalise on this natural blessing to help power its cities, achieve carbon neutrality and create a more sustainable future for its citizens.

Aside from the perfect geographical location and ideal climate in some regions, Australia is also home to some of the best researchers in the solar technology field. Recently some scientists based at the highly regarded University of Melbourne and University of New South Wales have made ground breaking discoveries which will help make solar cells more efficient, smaller, and cheaper in the future.

The country’s huge desert land mass that separates thepopulated coastal regions makes perfect locations for large scale solar PV projects, hybrid CSPs and massive wind farms. However this scale is ironically the very same reason which is partly responsible for rising electricity costs in Australia. The huge land area requires massive transmission lines to travel a long way from electricity girds, and power loss during this transmission is inevitable. Also maintenance and repair costs are very prohibitive and must be passed onto every consumer.

But the good news for the future is that by carefully planning and strategically locating new renewable energy power plants this need for massive power lines, expensive upgrades and electricity loss during transmission can be minimised, therefore decreasing the cost of energy.

However the key factor in unlocking Australia’s renewable energy potentials, especially solar power, is by creating enough of these mid-large scale “virtual” power stations to allow us to decentralise our energy production. Australian homes offer enough roof space for solar panel installations big enough to either partially or completely eliminate the household electricity bill, but industrial requirements are much higher.

While supportive measures undertaken by the federal and state governments have done much to grow the industry through very successful solar bonuses and schemes in the last few years, recent policy has been to reduce all of these. The reason is that solar power has reduced greatly in cost in that time, to the point where it is close to achieving price parity with coal produced electricity sources even without any rebates.

The industry still requires nurturing, stability and support though if we are to make the next step to being a real “solar power”; Australia is lagging far behind well-established solar giants in Europe like Germany despite their much less favourable climate conditions.

We already have some of the best researchers, resources, conditions and technology in the world; now we are waiting on stable government policies to give confidence to the large investors able to help fund a continued stream of large projects.

 Our proposed price on carbon will take care of funding for ongoing research and development of emerging renewable energy technologies, and better facilitation of decentralised grid connection; all of which is very important to Australia for economic reasons as well as environmental!

Australia Aims for 100% Solar

Almost every city in Australia has set their individual renewable energy target. The ultimate goal is to reduce carbon emission with the help of carefully designed programs that make switching to alternative energy easier andmore affordable for businesses and residents in their city. From households to schools to government buildings and businesses, every city council is encouraging more solar power installations and other clean energy initiatives.

Currently even with the big solar boom in 2010 and early 2011, Australia has not yet been listed as a top solar electricity producer in line with European countries which has less favorable conditions. However with the collective efforts of every city council and state the country has a great future in solar power.

The rebates and incentives offered by state government are now coupled with individual city council privileges to encourage more households and businesses to make the switch to rooftop solar panels. Every city is aiming to be the number one most sustainable solar powered city in Australia, and the competition is becoming healthier not only for the environment but for the city’s economy as well.

The healthy competition pushes every council to design more and more programs to assist their residents, and this is one of the top reasons why Australia’s solar industry is continuing to grow steadily. Moreover city councils are also committed in reducing their operation’s carbon emissions by fitting the council office with renewable energy sources and energy efficient units, field operations are now also being modified to facilitate carbon sequestration and set a good example y living what they preach.

Energy experts and economists say that Australia hasn’t unleashed its full potential yet. If European countries like Germany have become so successful with their limited solar climate potential, how much more can be achieved from a country that is blessed with the right conditions and technology.

The national target for large scale carbon reduction in the country is by the year 2020. The present administration says that Australia can reach Grid Parity within that time which will make clean energy production a much more level playing field with dirty fossil fuel sources.

In general Australia goals are as follows…

1. Reduce carbon emissions drastically (by at least 30%)
2. Protect the environment for a better economy and the future of the next generations.
3. Aid households with rising electricity bills.
4. Improve the technology with continued research and development.
5. Become ranked as one of the world’s highest solar electricity producing countries.
6. And to better the lives of every Aussie with more jobs and a cheaper cost of living.

2 Major Solar Projects Commencing Construction in Hervey Bay

The Queensland government has committed to invest $4 million into solar projects in Hervey Bay in the Fraser Coast region. The initiative is composed of two projects; the 1^st is the $2.7 million Fraser Coast Community Solar Farm, and the 2^nd is the $1.3 million 266 kilowatt solar panel system at the Hervey Bay Hospital.

Energy Minister Stephen Robertson together with the Mayor of Hervey Bay lead the ceremony on Sept 28th to officially begin construction on the first community owned solar farm, not only in the region, but in all of Queensland. The project will cover a total land space of 2,600 square meters and will use 1,584 solar panels to generate over 600 megawatts of electricity to power almost 100 homes in the community.

The solar farm is expected to reduce the region’s carbon emission by 600 tons annually, and eventually reduce energy prices since it may pave the way for more solar farm in the region. The solar farm is also milestone in Queensland since it is both the first stand-alone farm, and the first to integrate with both the industrial and commercial sectors of the state.

The second part of the initiative is installing an extensive solar PV array at the Hervey Bay Hospital. As part of the Queensland commitment to both health and clean energy, the local government has funded a $1.3 million 266 kilowatt solar panels system for the hospital to help offset its carbon emissions and greatly reduce its energy consumption.

In projected figures, the system can save the hospital around $20,000 on energy bills and 400 tons of carbon annually.

These exciting projects are an important economic boost for the area which will create many new jobs. Also they will serve as a major milestone for the local solar power industry and will have a huge impact overall to promote the regional council’s sustainability campaigns.

Solar PV Panels Buyer's Tips

Many aspects must be taken into consideration if you are planning to go solar, of course you wanted to get the best results possible and value for your money.

First thing that you need to do is to be familiar with the government policies and guidelines within you are, Australia doesn't have a standardized guidelines yet but the local government are iplementing it by state. Get to know what are the terms in the rebates, incentives and understand how the feed in tariff works.
Second, you need to know what size of the system you'd need. It can be best determined by know these three factors

• Your average energy consumption for about a year
• Your free roof space and sunlight availability
• and your budget...

Third, you need to shop around. there many retailers and solar panel suppliers in the market today and everyone is claiming that their products and services offers the best va;ue for money - well of course they will. But you are the only one who can tell that. Jump from one store to another and determine what will suit you best.

And last, after getting a quote it is better to counter check it with the Clean Energy Council of Australia to verify whether this company is a certified manufacturer and installer of solar PV panels and qualify for all the government benefits.

If you amanged to get it done, you can enjoy the benefits of geen living both in your pocket and in your conscience.