Green Power Brings The Tick Of Approval

Green Power Brings The Tick Of Approval
Lithgow Mercury, Page: 8
Saturday, 15 April 2006

The Blue Mountains are turning green with the launch of a Green Power information campaign in Council libraries and sports centres. Local Member and Minister for the Environment Bob Debus and Blue Mountains Mayor Jim Angel are encouraging local residents and businesses to embrace Green Power and help reduce greenhouse emissions. "Green Power is a clean green energy alternative and you can choose to make some or all of your energy green. By switching even a fraction of your energy needs green, you can help reduce greenhouse gases," Mr Debus said.

"The Green Power Scheme was established in NSW 1997 and launched nationally in 2000 and is one of the first Green Power accreditation schemes in the world." The Green Power tick of approval means that the energy you are buying from your supplier must come from renewable and environmentally friendly power sources. "At the moment at least 80 per cent of that energy must come from 'new' generation plants - or generators which have been built after January 11997." After July this year that will increase to 100 per cent of the energy.

"Green energy is generated from renewable sources such as the sun, wind, water or biomass rather than from burning coal which releases large quantities of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere," Mr Debus said. "The average household in Australia emits over eight tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year. "In the past five years, Green Power customers have contributed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 1.4 million cars off the road for 12 months," Mr Debus said.

Mayor Jim Angel said Council was reviewing its energy contracts to look at Green Power and had introduced ways to reduce its energy consumption and green house gas emissions over the past few years. "Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, in conjunction with the Lawson Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Council and Integral Energy, are working to achieve energy efficiencies and long-term energy savings for the residents of Lawson," Cr Angel said "Over 500 residents in South Lawson have been contacted to take part in a survey which will assist the Institute and the Council in achieving energy efficiency for all of Lawson. "We want to apply the findings of Lawson to reduce the costs for both households and businesses throughout the wider Blue Mountains region. "Over the past two years Council has significantly cut down energy consumption, and therefore greenhouse gas emissions, in Council buildings.

"In the first year of our Energy Performance Contract project we achieved an annual 40 per cent energy saving in lighting and since then we have reduced 136 tonnes of CO2 greenhouse gas emission each year (the equivalent of removing 30 cars from the road) and have saved Council approximately $15, 000 per annum in energy consumption and maintenance costs," Cr Angel said. As part of the project Council has installed solar panels at Katoomba and Glenbrook pools which will be used to help heat the indoor and outdoor pools. The project is being undertaken at no cost to Council. Energy Conservation Systems undertake the capital improvements at their cost and are paid from the financial savings Blue Mountains City Council achieves through the reduction of energy costs.

Council is also reducing the energy consumption of streetlights by switching to T5 lights which give the same level of directed illumination as 80 watt globes but use only one third of the power. "For every 100 streetlights we change over, we stop around 14 tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere," Cr Angel said. Cr Angel said Council is changing its car fleet to four cylinders rather than six and looking at ways to increase use of public and alternate transport. More information can be found on the Green Power website: http://www.greenpower.com.au