{"id":39821,"date":"2020-05-15T06:01:45","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T19:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=39821"},"modified":"2020-05-15T06:01:45","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T19:31:45","slug":"bathurst-council-solar-mb1525","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/bathurst-council-solar-mb1525\/","title":{"rendered":"Bathurst Council Readying For More Solar Power"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Solar

Image: Google Maps<\/p><\/div>\n

Bathurst Regional Council is preparing to have another significant solar power system installed – this one on the Memorial Entertainment Centre; and it’s likely not the last.<\/p>\n

An invitation for quotes closed on Tuesday this week for contractors to put in their bids for the design, construction and maintenance of a 90kW system for the Centre’s rooftop.<\/p>\n

\"Bathurst

Image: Google Earth<\/p><\/div>\n

A Pioneer In PV<\/h2>\n

Bathurst Regional Council has been a pioneer among Australian local governments in PV uptake. Its first system was installed in 2009; a 2kW array on the Bathurst Visitor Information Centre. Providing an indication of just how much the cost of solar<\/a> has dropped since then, Council states that installation was $26,000; but it received a helping hand from the Federal Government.<\/p>\n

The same sized system now would cost around $3,000 – $4,500 after the solar rebate<\/a>. There’s very little demand for 2kW systems these days – even for homes. The most popular size for residential applications currently is 6.6kW<\/a>; which cost $5,200 \u2013 $9,200 fully installed after the rebate for a good quality system and providing much better bang for buck than 2kW.<\/p>\n

Since that original 2kW system, Council says solar panels have been installed on 15 of its facilities for a total capacity of 435kW1<\/a><\/sup>. These systems combined generate the equivalent of <\/span>5.4% of Council\u2019s annual electricity consumption.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Solar Energy Road Ahead For Bathurst<\/h2>\n

Electricity remains a major cost for Council. According to its draft Renewable Energy Action Plan<\/a> dated April 2020, Council facilities consumed 15,069 MWh of mains grid electricity in 2018-19, at a cost of almost $3.5 million.<\/p>\n

As a way of further cutting energy costs (and emissions), the <\/span>draft plan sets the following renewable<\/span><\/span>s<\/span> targets:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n