Life After Coal – Lithgow City Council Contemplating Solar

A bigger role for solar in Lithgow’s future? | Solar panels image : Lujkin8, CC BY-SA 3.0

If the Mayor of Lithgow in New South Wales has his way, solar panels could soon be installed on the Lithgow City Council building rooftop. It’s big news, as the city is in the heart of coal country.

It’s becoming increasingly common for councils in Australia to have an interest in solar energy – we’ve published a bunch of stories in recent months highlighting the efforts of local governments embracing the technology and encouraging uptake among residents.

However, solar power is yet to really hit its stride in Lithgow.

Located in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Lithgow has a population of around 20,000 and is the centre of a coal mining district. The fossil fuel has been mined in the region since 1869, but mining activities are dropping off. According to Lithgow Environment Group, there were only three operational mines in the Lithgow region in March, collectively producing around 7.8 million tonnes of coal each year.

Nine mines have recently either closed, placed on “care and maintenance”, or have development applications pending.

Lithgow is also only 25 kilometres from the coal-fired Mount Piper power station. Another black coal electricity generator in the region, Wallerawang, operated until late 2014.

Coal has played a big part in the lives of Lithgow residents for many years, but the writing is on the wall for the little black rock. Just yesterday, the NSW Court of Appeal determined consent should not have been granted for extension of operations of Centennial Coal’s Springvale mine.

Even in the face of coal’s demise in the region, renewable energy doesn’t get much of a mention on the Lithgow City Council web site. In fact, running a search on solar power turns up nothing.

Things may be about to change.

The Lithgow Mercury reports Mayor Stephen Lesslie signaled his support for solar earlier this week in an announcement after a meeting discussing a transition to renewables.

“Ten years ago, ‘after coal’ would never have been heard in Lithgow but now we are talking about it, we are aware that we have to do this,” said Mayor Lesslie. “We are aware that we have to move on. Even Lithgow Council is going to put solar panels on top of it!”

The meeting also saw Lithgow Environment Group announce a campaign to motivate businesses in the city to install commercial solar systems.

Lithgow’s strong ties to coal hasn’t stopped some residents from installing solar power systems. According to recent Clean Energy Regulator data, there were 870 solar panel systems in the 2790 postcode as at July 1; collectively representing just shy of 3MW capacity.

With a population of 20,000, there’s still a lot of rooftops in Lithgow that could be covered in solar panels; helping local businesses and households slash their electricity bills, while creating solar jobs in the area.

Through the efforts of the Mayor and organisations such as Lithgow Environment Group, perhaps we’ll be seeing the solar revolution really get into gear in Lithgow in the near future.