Twenty-three businesses found profitable ways to cut their energy bills by a total of $1.3 million a year as a result of the federal government’s Blacktown Solar City project.
Other benefits of the project included 490 households installed a BP Solar Energizer electricity system with 152 households also installing a solar hot water system, 340 kilowatts of solar electricity has been installed on commercial buildings in Blacktown, 1065 customers had in-home displays provided for real-time information on energy use and the installation of approximately 4500 smart meters providing residential customers with timely information on energy use.
“The response from the Blacktown community was outstanding with demand certainly above expectations,” a council report said. The report concluded the five-year project delivered substantial economic, environmental and social achievements.
“The concentrated solar uptake of approximately 1MW generated 1.2GWh of electricity, directly leading to the deferment of upgrades of two constrained zone substations, an estimated total annual saving on energy bills of over $650,000 and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of over 2000 tonnes,” the report said.
The final report has been forwarded to the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.
The project was one of seven solar city projects undertaken through the Australian government's Solar Cities program, which was designed to trial new sustainable models for electricity supply.
The Blacktown Solar City Consortium comprises of BP Solar, Blacktown City Council, ANZ Bank, Endeavour Energy, Landcom and Big Switch Projects.
