Solar in Bundaberg leads Australia’s top suburbs.

Solar in Bundaberg leads Australian suburbs for PV solar update as aerial imagery company Nearmap are reporting that last year 1078MW of rooftop solar systems were installed across Australia. Seven of the top ten suburbs are in Queensland and the other three are in Western Australia – with a huge bump in the number of rural and coastal towns installing more solar power systems than ever before. 

Solar in Bundaberg

Solar in Bundaberg
Solar in Bundaberg 2017 (source: RealEstate.com.au via Nearmap)

We’ve seen quite a lot of work done in Bundaberg so it’s no surprise to see they are the biggest suburb in Australia with the highest solar power uptake. Walking around you can see systems on many roofs and Stockland are installing a solar system on top of their Bundaberg shopping centre.

Nearmap executive Shane Preston discussed how they were able to use their software to have a visual on how much the landscape has changed, and how we will see even more as the technology/price continues to move in the right direction. Mr. Preston noted that using technology like Nearmap allow you to have a clearer look on how much solar is actually being installed in households Australia wide:

“But when you look at it from the air, you can observe in incredible detail the renewable energy uptake occurring across our country,’’ he said.

“As the benefits of renewable energies like solar continue to surface, we can expect to see more demand for installations,’’ he continued, in comments made to news.com.au.

Nearmap (visit their website here) worked with the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) to come up with the statistics (in a sense – as per Your Mortgage, Nearmap flew over 88% of the population in urbanised areas six times in the last year to help document Australia’s solar revolution) – so even though the statistics come from the CER they’ve been helped along by Nearmap’s great service. 

Australia’s Biggest Solar Suburbs

Bundaberg North – 11,756
Erskine – 11,409
Nikenbah – 10,517
Caloundra – 9308
Toowoomba – 8580
Hocking – 8416
Pacific Pines – 7724
Mackay – 7263
Raceview – 7295
Canning Vale – 7116

 

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Mackay Council Solar Tender – 20 Sites

Mackay Council solar sites – the Mackay Regional Council has voted to invite tenders from 16 shortlisted respondents for the installation of solar systems at 20 council sites. 

Mackay Council Solar 

Mackay Council Solar Tender
Mackay Council Solar Tender (source: mackay.qld.gov.au)

An ordinary meeting held by the Mackay Regional Council yesterday voted to ask for tenders from shortlisted Expressions of Interest (EOI) respondents – a pool of 16.  They’re hoping to install solar systems at 20 sites around Mackay, according to the council website. These sites are:

  • Mackay Civic Precinct ArtSpace
  • Mackay Civic Precinct Administration Building
  • Mackay Civic Precinct Entertainment Centre and Convention Centre (MECC)
  • Wellington St Administration Building
  • The Dome – Dudley Denny City Library
  • Gordon White Library
  • Bluewater Lagoon
  • Paget Depot
  • Nebo Road Water Treatment Plant
  • Mt Bassett Sewer Pump Station
  • Mirani Depot Site
  • Paget Waste Transfer Station
  • Sarina Administration Centre including Bob Wood Hall and Library
  • Sarina Sewerage Treatment Plant
  • Mackay South Sewerage Treatment Plant
  • Mackay North Sewerage Treatment Plant
  • Dumbleton Weir
  • Mirani Sewerage Treatment Plant
  • Pioneer Swim Centre
  • Sydney St SPS

According to the Daily Mercury, the council’s yearly electricity bill is around $7 million – with $3 million of that from street lights and $2 million to power the city centre. Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said that every $1 million the council saves could lead to a 1% reduction in rates bills. 

According to Mackay Regional Council CEO Craig Doyle they an assortment of options including a large-scale solar farm, waste-to-energy and a hydro turbine,  but ended up deciding on small-scale solar on specific sites instead: 

“We called for EOIs in September last year to investigate options around renewable energy and explored both site-specific and large-scale options,” Mr Doyle said. “It was decided that small-scale, site-specific solar systems would suit council’s needs best.”

Mr Doyle elaborated on the council’s ultimate aims: “This renewable energy program aligns with our Environmental Sustainability Strategy with one of the aims being to become a ‘low-carbon, resource-efficient and productive organisation’.

This news follows an encouraging trend of councils looking to minimise their ecological footprint – for example, Lismore City Council’s 100kw floating solar farm has recently been completed. This will help them reach the target of generating all required electricity via renewable sources by 2023 and we’d love to see other councils following suit.

 

 

 

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