DESPITE the disappointment of being snubbed for a substantial renewable energy project Tenterfield Shire Council has pushed ahead by implementing its own green initiatives.
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Last week council completed the installation on the third of its solar energy projects.
Council said they had deliberately targeted the highest energy use buildings in the shire with the town’s sewerage treatment plant understood to cost $140 per day in electricity to operate.
Tenterfield’s water treatments plant, sewerage treatment plant and the Urbenville water treatment plant have all now been converted to solar.
In total, the 45kW system cost $56,000 with a three year payback based on current consumption and electricity price trends.
“Apart from the obvious savings to the community after the first three years, council is delighted to be leading by example and reducing our carbon emissions,” Tenterfield shire mayor Peter Petty said.
Adam Blakester from Starfish Initiatives, the organisation responsible for the zero net energy town proposal, said Tenterfield should continue to push their own green agenda.
Mr Blakester suggested Tenterfield could team up with a newly formed Northern Rivers consortium.
Northern Rivers Energy was awarded $54,000 from the Total Environment Centre (TEC) and Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) to develop a business plan and prove their viability as Australia’s first community owned energy reatiler.
Speaking to the ABC’s Lateline program late last month, Steve Harris from Northern Rivers Energy said they were only interested in reinvesting in to the community.
“Any energy that they export back into the grid, we will give them, hopefully, a much better rate than what they're currently getting now, because the rates that the current energy retailers are providing are abysmally low.
“The local community will want to be part of this scheme,” he said.
Starfish’s Adam Blakester said Tenterfield could look to be one of the key players in the energy consortiums push. He said Tenterfield had a lot to offer and could prove to be important in the green energy push.
“The thing that Tenterfield has that interest us greatly is that it’s at the point where the interconnector connects with the coast.
“I would encourage Tenterfield to keep chipping away,” Mr Blakester said.
Wind farms and solar energy were two things he believes Tenterfield could look to further or begin to implement.
