City of Rockingham Joins Climate Council’s Cities Power Partnership

Image: City of Rockingham

Western Australia’s City of Rockingham last week joined dozens of other councils across Australia reaffirming their commitment to a sustainable energy future.

The City of Rockingham is a local government area in the far southern suburbs of Perth. Approximately 125,000 people live within its boundaries.

Under the Cities Power Partnership, Council will commit to actions relating to best practice energy efficiency and deliver these actions in a selected time frame.

The City of Rockingham is also a signatory to Western Australia’s Local Government Association Climate Change Declaration, which it signed in 2011. Since that time, Council has installed solar panels on 74 of its buildings and carried out other actions including solar lighting in parks and upgrading other lighting to LED.

“With 37km of pristine coastline, a growing population and strong environmental values, the City is always looking at ways to develop its understanding of sustainability and joining the Cities Power Partnership gives us a fantastic opportunity do to just that,” said Mayor Barry Sammels.

Among its solar power installations is a roof-mounted 340kW system at Aqua Jetty, consisting of 988 solar panels. Due to be fully operational this month, the system will generate an estimated 427 MWh of electricity per year.

The City’s residents and businesses have also been striking a blow towards reducing emissions (and their power bills) through the installation of solar panels. According to recent Clean Energy Regulator data, there are approximately 18,870 small-scale solar power systems in the City of Rockingham area. In Rockingham itself, around 3,389 systems are installed.

It was a busy week for the Cities Power Partnership – among other councils announced as new members were Hepburn Shire (Victoria), Shire of Northam (Western Australia) and City of Ballarat (Victoria).

Local Governments Leading The Renewables Charge

Last week the Climate Council also released a report indicating local councils were well ahead of the Federal Government on policies to tackle climate change, committing to hundreds of projects designed to slash greenhouse gas emissions within their areas.

“Despite the latest data showing that Australia’s emissions are soaring, our towns and cities are quietly shifting to a renewable future,” said Chief Climate Councillor Professor Tim Flannery. ” A huge surge of local government renewable energy projects are underway – and with over 100 councils joining the Cities Power Partnership, we’ll see many more.”

The report: Tackling Climate Change Together: Local Governments Lead the Charge can be downloaded here (PDF).