Blacktown Solar City
The Blacktown Solar City consortium is working with industry, businesses and the local community to rethink the way they produce and use energy.
Practical benefits for the local community
Blacktown, in Western Sydney, is a rapidly growing part of Australia. One of the key energy issues in Blacktown is the high summer energy demand to power major appliances such as air conditioners and pool pumps.
Energy options being trialed through the Blacktown Solar City include:
- 860 solar photovoltaic panels will be installed on private and public housing and on commercial and iconic buildings - this equates to over one megawatt of solar energy.
- Help to finance their solar systems will be available to consumers.
- More than 2,100 solar water heaters will be installed in private and public housing.
- 3,500 energy efficiency consultations for households and businesses.
- 30,000 energy efficiency packs will be available for households and commercial customers, to support their energy efficient choices.
- 1,000 customers will be offered the opportunity to adopt pricing structures that allow them to save money by changing the times they use energy.
- 200 households will receive discounted ceiling insulation packages to participate in a trial to measure energy savings from properly installed insulation.
- A trial will be conducted to allow customers to more efficiently manage their air conditioners and pool pumps during periods of peak electricity demand.
- 4,000 smart meters will give residential customers timely information on energy use.
One of the unique trials underway in Blacktown is a solar energy kit which combines two sets of solar panels - one set to heat water and the other to create electricity. This new combined installation takes up less roof space and is cheaper to install than conventional individual systems.
Additional benefits
Additional benefits of the Blacktown Solar City include:
- savings of over 22 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually
- greenhouse gas emissions reduced by more than 24,000 tonnes each year
- annual savings of approximately $3 million in electricity bills for the Blacktown City community
- valuable information and lessons learned will inform energy and greenhouse policies.
Consortium members
The Blacktown Solar City consortium is joining with the Australian Government in delivering this innovative new trial. The consortium is led by BP Solar, with consortium members including Integral Energy, Blacktown City Council, ANZ, Landcom, and Big Switch Projects.
Australia's Solar Cities
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