City of Ryde Eyeing 60% Renewables By 2030

In a meeting on Tuesday, Sydney’s City of Ryde gave the nod to investigating the potential of substantially amping up its use of renewable energy sources.

A motion from Councillor Edwina Clifton to seek a report indicating how Council may be able to best achieve at least 60% of electricity consumed by its operations and services being sourced from renewables such as solar power by June 2030 was passed.

But not everyone was happy.

Liberal Councillor Jordan Lane had a bit of a grizzle to 2GB’s Ray Hadley about it.

“We shouldn’t be making decisions like this if we’re not sure of the impact it’s going to have on our ratepayers,” he said.

He seems to be jumping the gun – it’s not a done deal. A report will be first produced that may (and should) also contain financials. Cr. Lane may have also missed plenty of reports over the last year relating to councils around Australia (including his own) saving bucks by going solar, which they can then spend on improving services and infrastructure.

The Telegraph’s Tim Blair wasn’t impressed either.

“Based on all available scientific and mathematic evidence, Sydney’s Ryde council does not have the ability to influence the planet’s climate.”

Sigh.

While a little done often enough adds up to a lot, perhaps Cr. Clifton’s motion background should have also included a few lines about the potential financial benefits of renewables, instead of just focusing on climate change and reducing emissions. Cheap electricity from renewables isn’t confined to on-site solar of course, there’s other options such as off-site solar and wind power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Ryde Council’s Solar Street Cred

The City of Ryde is no stranger to solar power, but it still has many rooftops and facilities that could be put to use harvesting the energy of the sun.

Among its current installations, Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre boasts 846 solar panels on its rooftop. The 300kW solar PV system will reduce reliance on mains grid consumption by an estimate 12.87 per cent, with annual energy savings expected to be over $35,000 per year.

A 32.76kW system on the roof of North Ryde Library and Community Centre will help to save council (and ratepayers) more than $4,000 per year on energy bills. Eastwood Hall also had a system installed early this year, which Council says will generate 24 per cent of the facility’s electricity needs and save almost $3,500 per year.

While payback time wasn’t indicated on Council’s solar page for any of the above projects, depending on the situation payback could be 5-7 years¹.

Ryde was also among a group of councils in NSW to sign on to purchase output from Moree Solar Farm, which will deliver significant electricity cost savings.

In other recent related news from Council, City of Ryde reported its greenhouse gas emissions dropped 10% in 2017/18. While that may not have the ability to noticeably influence the planet’s climate, it remains a pretty good effort and it’s always encouraging to see councils trying to do their bit.

City of Ryde is one of 100 councils across Australia participating in the Climate Council’s Cities Power Partnership.

Besides Council, residents of Ryde are also switching on to home solar savings. According to an Australian PV Institute (APVI) map, there were an estimated 29,476 dwelling in the Ryde Council area as at 30 September and of those, 3,133 had solar panels installed – approximately 10.6%². However, the APVI figures also include installations 10kW to 100kW and 100kW+ (84 in total), many of which were likely commercial solar installs.