News from Australia’s Solar Cities

In this issue:
• Welcome • Central Victoria Solar City hits the
Issue 5 • Smart Living in Perth Solar City road
• Power to the people in Moreland
June 2010 • Solar reputation shines at Alice
Solar City
Springs Airport
• Magnetic Island Solar Suburb Trade • Efficient business in Blacktown Solar
Expo City
• Spotlight

Welcome Solar reputation shines at

Welcome to the fifth edition of Solarise - the newsletter
for Australia’s Solar Cities. This edition contains stories
Alice Springs Airport
about some of the achievements in each of the Solar Alice Springs Airport will soon become the first
Cities. Australian airport to be powered by a large scale
solar power station. It is the second of Alice Solar
Smart Living in Perth Solar City’s five planned ‘iconic projects’, after the
Crowne Plaza Hotel.
City The sod turning for the solar power station was
The Perth Solar City Living Smart Program was held at the site on Wednesday 21 April, with the
launched at the Astor Theater in Mt Lawley on Friday construction team ready to commence work as
30 April. Living Smart is an innovative behaviour soon as the event concluded. Northern Territory
change initiative which works directly with households Senator Trish Crossin commended the cooperative
to reduce their bills and be part of the solution to work that has led to construction commencement.
climate change.
Perth Solar City aims to engage 10,000 households in
the Program. Five thousand of these households will
be invited to receive ‘eco-coaching’ over the telephone
to analyse their energy and water bills and discuss
ideas for making savings.
Visit www.perthsolarcity.com.au to find out more.
Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Climate
Change, Energy Efficiency and Water attended the
launch and spoke to attendees about Perth Solar City.
“Everyone wants to do their bit in helping to reduce
our emissions,’’ Senator Wong said. The event was
a success with attendees learning energy saving tips Above: An artist’s representation of the completed
from the on hand eco-coach. Alice Springs Airport project

The Alice Springs Airport’s 235 kilowatt (kW) solar

project will produce 600 megawatt hours (MWh)
of electricity per year, which is approximately 28
per cent of the site’s energy consumption.
Brian Elmer, General Manager of Alice Solar City
said, “This project will play a critical part in our
strategy of making Alice Springs a national and
international showcase for sustainable living and
the use of renewable energy.”

Above: Senator Wong at

the Living Smart launch

Above: A concentrator photovoltaic array of the
type to be installed at the Alice Springs Airport
Magnetic Island Solar
Suburb Trade Expo
Townsville: Queensland Solar City ran its first Trade
Expo on Magnetic Island on 11 May, hosted by
celebrity builder Scott Cam. The expo was a success
with around 500 residents attending. The event was a
great opportunity for local tradespeople, suppliers and
retailers to display their energy efficient products and
services to both the island community and each other.
Trade exhibitors said the community interest exceeded
their expectations – one of the two island roof painters
who exhibited said he had secured six house painting
commissions on the night to paint the roof of each
residence white. Painting roofs white keeps houses
cool in the tropics.

“As the airport is one of the biggest users of electricity

in Alice Springs, we congratulate them on making
such a big commitment to both the town and the
environment with this major investment.”
The power station will be developed by Australian solar
developer Ingenero, using 28 SolFocus Concentrator
Photovoltaic (CPV) tracking arrays, which each
measure eight metres wide and seven metres high.
The total cost of the power station is $2.264 million,
with $1.132 million provided by the Australian
Government through Alice Solar City.
In addition to the solar power station project, Alice
Solar City has supported the Alice Springs Airport with
a grant of $25,000 to make the terminal more energy
efficient through measures such as the installation of From left: Ergon Energy CEO Ian McLeod, Scott Cam
energy efficient light globes and motion sensors to and Townsville Solar City Manager Ian Cruickshank
control lights and timers.

The expo showcased the latest market offerings in

Further information
Visit the Solar Cities website:
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/Home/
government/programs-and-rebates/solar-cities.
aspx
© Commonwealth of Australia, 2010
Information contained in this publication may be copied or
reproduced for study, research, information or educational
purposes, subject to inclusion of an acknowledgment of
the source.
natural and LED lighting, solar power, heat pump
technology, pool heating, inverter air conditioning
and 5-star appliances as well as options for improved
thermal performance like insulation, ventilation, heat
reflective paint, window tinting and shading.
Exhibitors and tradespeople had the opportunity to
network with each other before the hordes descended
to view the exhibits promoting outdoor low energy
tropical living and sample the BBQ fare.

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Central Victoria Solar
City hits the road
More than 500 people attended community
presentations in 14 municipalities in Central
Victoria during February and March, showing the
region has a strong interest in taking local action
on climate change. The presentations contained
information on Central Victoria Solar City offers
for residents, which comprise a number of
different packages.
The solar packages were popular amongst
attendees. The solar hot water and two kilowatt
(kW) household solar electric systems were
offered at 10 per cent off the retail price. Since
then, prices on these systems have been further
reduced thanks to the support of one of the
consortium members, Origin.
There was also strong interest from Bendigo and
Ballarat residents in the solar park trial. Ballarat
resident Roland Nam picked up information
about the solar park package. “I think it’s great
that there’s a solar park in Ballarat. Every town in
Australia should have one.”
Many residents were interested to learn how they
might improve or upgrade existing household
fittings and fixtures to reduce household energy
use and potentially lower their energy costs
with the retrofit package. A comprehensive
energy efficiency retrofit assessment, report and
generous participation bonuses are key elements
of this package.
Other ways to get involved in the project include
signing up for the energy audit package, the
smart rates package, or the full suite package.
See www.centralvictoriasolarcity.com.au to find
out more.
Above: Joy and Ken Tudball with Roland Nam at
the Ballarat solar park
Right: a cogeneration unit
Power to the people in
Moreland Solar City
Small gas-fired power plants at Moreland’s pools could
be the model for cheaper, cleaner and more efficient
energy generation across Melbourne.
The Moreland Energy Foundation (MEFL) is
working with Moreland City Council to develop a trial
cogeneration plant for local leisure centres which
would generate all the electricity needed and use
waste heat to heat swimming pools. The Fawkner
Leisure Centre is being considered as one possible
site for a combined gas-fired heat and power
generator.
Above: The Fawkner Leisure Centre
“The UK and Europe are way ahead of us on this,
but the technology has fantastic potential here,” said
MEFL’s Bruce Thompson. “It’s 80-90 per cent more
efficient than tapping into coal generated power
and we could have plants like this across Moreland,
powering and heating community facilities, schools
and hospitals, and apartment blocks.”
Many European cities have shown that decentralised
energy units emit less greenhouse gas emissions and
save energy through reduced transmission costs.
“It’s a bit more complicated here than in Europe, where
there’s major heat demand most of the year. The
major barriers to date are regulatory and infrastructure
issues,” said Bruce.
As part of its Moreland Solar City program, MEFL
will set up an energy services function, a special
entity to develop decentralised energy generation by
bringing together funding and technical expertise and
identifying suitable sites.
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Efficient business in
Blacktown Solar City
Blacktown Solar City continues to promote the goals
of the Solar Cities program by assisting businesses to
become more energy efficient.
The Business Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP), run
by consortium partner Big Switch Projects is one way
businesses are being made aware of energy efficiency
savings. So far Big Switch Projects have signed up 14
companies to BEEP, from a variety of business sectors.
Companies have joined BEEP because they are
interested in reducing their environmental impact and
recognise that energy efficiency makes good business
sense when faced with rising energy costs.
Above: Office building owned by new
BEEP partner Ford Land Company
The program involves the completion of an Australian
Standard Level Two energy audit. The audit looks
at the end use of electricity and natural gas at the
business site, the amount of energy supplied and what
the energy is used for. It also identifies areas where
energy savings may be made and provides details of
the estimated capital cost, savings, financial returns
and greenhouse gas savings.
Energy efficiency opportunities have been identified
in areas such as lighting and controls, air conditioning
and controls, hot water use, manufacturing processes,
compressed air and energy performance of office
equipment.
As the program progresses, patterns and findings will
continue to be collected. One early indication of note is
that the majority of consultations result in the business
choosing to implement no cost or low cost measures
due to the required return on investment. Findings
and lessons learned from Blacktown Solar City’s
Business Energy Efficiency Program will continue to
provide a valuable insight into what businesses know
about energy efficiency and the level of participation in
energy efficiency programs.
Spotlight
In this column, we introduce
someone involved with Solar
Cities and learn about their role
in the program. In this issue we
meet Dario De Bortoli from Origin
Energy who is the Adelaide Solar City Project
Manager.
How long have you been working on the Adelaide
Solar City project?
I’ve worked on the Adelaide Solar City Project
since 2007 when I was asked to help develop
time of use and demand management tariffs
and in-home display technology for Origin’s cost
reflective pricing trial. Since the launch in 2008,
I’ve been the Project Manager.
What issues do you deal with in a typical working
day?
My typical day can be quite varied as the project
has many diverse and innovative aspects. The
Adelaide Solar City team is small so we all tend
to pitch in to keep the project progressing. A lot
of my time is spent working closely with the team
and consortium members to provide them with the
information and assistance they need to keep our
trials and photovoltaic installations on track.
What excites you most about your Solar City?
Adelaide Solar City is introducing some very
exciting electricity products and technologies.
Many of these can be seen in Origin’s Smart
Rates trial which is combining cost reflective
pricing, smart metering and in-home display
technologies to understand more about consumer
energy use patterns and behaviours.
What energy saving measures have you
undertaken in your own home?
Our household has always taken energy
efficiency measures. The kids help reduce
unnecessary energy use by switching off their
computer and bedroom lights when they’re not
needed. We have also set rules on the weekend
and holidays around when the air conditioners
and heaters can be used so that we are not
unnecessarily running appliances.
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