Victoria’s Mitchell Shire Joins Cities Power Partnership

Solar power looks set to play a bigger role in Mitchell Shire Council’s efforts to further slash its carbon emissions.

One of Victoria’s fastest growing outer metropolitan municipalities, Mitchell Shire is situated around 40 kilometres north of Melbourne. Currently home to 49,000 residents, the LGA expected to reach a population of 270,000 in the next 25-30 years.

The potential impacts of climate change have been on the mind of the organisation for some time and last year councillors voted to acknowledge a climate emergency; joining more than a hundred other Australian local government jurisdictions and organisations that had already done so at that point. The vote followed climate action being identified as being a major issue in a community survey carried out earlier in the year.

But prior to this, Council had already been busy tackling the issue; slashing greenhouse gas emissions by around 40 percent since 2009 – 2010. This has been achieved through various strategies, including the purchase of Greenpower and installation of rooftop solar panels on a number of buildings.

Building on its efforts, the organisation announced yesterday it has also joined the Climate Council’s Cities Power Partnership. The initiative brings local governments together to tackle issues concerning climate change and provides tools and advice to accelerate moving towards a zero emissions future. Launched in 2017, more than 165 local governments are now participating in the Partnership, representing almost 65 percent of Australia’s population.

When joining the Partnership, participants are required to make five pledges relating to renewable energy, energy efficiency, transport and/ or working in other ways to tackle climate change. Among the pledges chosen by Mitchell Shire Council are installing solar panels and battery storage on Council buildings, and powering council operations with renewable energy. This includes setting targets to increase the level of renewables for council operations over time.

“Mitchell Shire Council recognises that action on climate change is of great significance to our community,” says Mayor Cr Bill Chisholm. “We are keen to learn from, advocate with and join other Councils across Australia in a national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the impacts of climate change.”

Solar Power In Mitchell Shire

Council’s tally of solar PV on its assets to date is a total capacity of 182.4kW. Last year, its Environmentally Sustainable Design for Council Buildings Policy was released, one of the objectives of which is reducing reliance on non-renewable grid electricity.

Across the Mitchell Shire community, which includes the major population centres of Kilmore, Seymour and Wallan, there had been approximately 6,000 installations as at the end of December last year for a total estimated capacity of 32.9MW. Most of these are systems under 10kW and only a couple are over 100kW.

According to information from the Australian Photovoltaic Institute (APVI), approximately 32% of freestanding and semi-detached dwellings in the region have had solar panels installed, against a state-wide average of 23%. So, the Mitchell Shire community is punching well above its weight on PV – and it looks like it will continue to do so.