Wollongong City Council Powers Up More Solar

Solar panels installed atop Wollongong City Council’s multi-storey car in Stewart Street are now operational.

The 219.6kW system is comprised of 549 panels supported on steel frames, with the structure providing shade for vehicles parked underneath. The system is expected to generate 316 MWh of clean electricity a year, with the energy generated to help power Council’s Administration Building in Burelli Street and any surplus exported to the grid. It appears the car park installation will provide the equivalent of around a quarter of the Administration Building’s electricity consumption.

“The installation of these panels is a step in the right direction for all of Wollongong by helping reduce emissions and reliance on grid derived power,” said Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM. “We hope projects like these inspire our community to consider renewable energy options for their own homes and businesses.”

This latest system adds to what was 327kW of solar PV already installed on various Council assets as at late last year.

As for the broader community, last year we noted there had been 13,993 solar power systems installed in the City of Wollongong’s local government area up to September 2020; for a collective capacity of 67,755 kW. Using the same source (APVI) indicates 17,318 installations with an estimated installed capacity of 93,624 kW as at the end of June this year. That’s quite a jump and would have kept solar installers in Wollongong pretty busy.

About The Administration Building

The Administration Building is worth a special mention as it is impressive on the sustainability front given its age – now 34 years old. It was awarded a 6 Star Green Star Performance rating from the Green Building Council of Australia back in 2019. At that point in time, only 21 buildings across Australia and 10 in New South Wales had achieved that rating according to Council, and it was the only local government building to have done so.

On the energy side of things, improvements to the building over 15 years helped reduce its annual consumption of electricity by more than 200,000 kWh – that’s around equivalent to 30 – 40 households worth; each year.

Learnings from tweaking the Administration Building are being incorporated into other areas where Council has large energy consumption; such as its leisure centres and community centres.

Net Zero By 2030

Council is serious about getting its overall emissions right down and fairly rapidly – it’s shooting for net zero emissions for its operations by 2030. That’s no small task for a local government of this size as it serves a population well north of 200,000.

To further help it towards this goal, in June this year Council announced it will join other participating NSW councils in putting out a tender through Procurement Australia for a large-scale renewable generation power purchase agreement (PPA).

Wollongong City Council became a signatory to the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) for Climate and Energy in 2017, declared a climate emergency in 2019, and joined the Cities Power Partnership early last year.

Council has done a lot of talking the talk – and it’s good to see that is being accompanied by walking the walk.