Somerset Council To Power Up More Solar Panels

Another Queensland Government grant will help Somerset Regional Council crank even more clean power from atop its buildings.

Located  in the West Moreton area of South East Queensland, the Somerset Regional Council area has a population of around 25,000. Council is pretty keen on solar energy, with 17 installations on various buildings to date that it says will provide around  $2.1 million in savings over the systems’ service lives.

And when you’re on a good thing …

In March this year, Council submitted an application for a grant under Queensland’s 2022-24 Local Government Grants and Subsidies Program (LGGSP). The LGGSP supports councils in delivering priority infrastructure and essential services that meet the identified needs of their communities.

The application was successful and will enable a total of 65.2kW of additional solar power capacity at the following facilities.

• Lowood depot/SES
• Esk landfill and animal shelter
• Toogoolawah pool and community gym
• Esk Visitor Information Centre
• Esk SES
• Fernvale Community Hall
• Kay Avery Place community centre in Kilcoy
• Toogoolawah library

The value of the projects in total is put at $156,954; with the Queensland Government kicking in $88,924 and the SES $6,560 for the Lowood SES depot 6kW installation. $157,000 seems pretty pricey for eleven small systems, but perhaps that figure is before the national “solar rebate“. Even with that taken into consideration it’s still quite a sum  – there may be various installation complexities involved and/or the systems could be comprised of top-end kit; adding to the cost.

There wasn’t any mention of battery storage in Council’s announcement.

Under the terms of the LGGSP all projects need to be completed by 30 June 2024, but it looks like these systems will be installed by the end of this year.

Solar Energy Across The Somerset Community

Council says the new solar systems won’t just facilitate sustainable growth in its services to the community, but also promote the benefits of rooftop solar PV to local residents and business. Many in the community have already received that message loud and clear.

When we checked back in 2019, approximately 47.2% of dwellings in the region had solar panels installed for a collective 20MW capacity, which was already very impressive. By the following year that had crept up to a whisker over 48%. By the end of March this year, it had jumped to 58% and approximately 36.5MW capacity. This is all small scale PV, i.e. solar systems less than 100kW.

Based on Australian Photovoltaic Institute (APVI) data, Council says the Somerset local government area has the highest percentage of households with rooftop solar panels of any council area in Queensland, and the second-highest percentage in Australia.

Solar Power Lighting The Way In Toogoolawah

In other recent solar-related news from Council, last month the organisation announced completion of installation of 51 solar lights along the new shared concrete pathway through Toogoolawah, which was partly funded under the 2019 Queensland Bushfires Local Economic Recovery Program.

“The new path gives all-abilities, solar-lit access through town, facilitating tourism and providing marshalling area and evacuation opportunities in the event of fire or other emergencies,” said Deputy Mayor Helen Brieschke.