Community
In addition to our sponsorship program, Power and Water works with the community in a range of ways and encourages its staff to be involved in local community activities.
Melaleuca Awards
Our Melaleuca Awards celebrate the work of Territorians who look after our environment. The awards have been running for five years and highlight environmental sustainability and responsibility. Our annual Celebrity Lighten-Up Challenge, held in conjunction with the Melaleuca Awards, focuses on some of the Territory’s personalities battling to consume the lowest amount of power and water over three months.
Solar Cities Project - Alice Springs
Power and Water Corporation is helping the Alice Springs community to become a solar city. Alice Springs was confirmed as a Solar City in April 2007 under the Australian Government’s $75.3 million Solar Cities Project.
Solar Cities is designed to demonstrate how solar power, smart meters, energy efficiency and new approaches to electricity pricing can combine to provide a sustainable energy future in urban locations throughout Australia. It is also a partnership approach that involves all levels of government, the private sector and the local community.
Power and Water will support the project in a number of areas including cost reflective pricing, buy back rates and ‘smart metering’. A major plank of the Solar Cities Project is the provision of price signals to customers to help them manage their energy account as well as installation of up to 300 rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems in Alice Springs over seven years.
Solar initiatives - Central Australia
Two remote communities, Bulman in Arnhem Land and Kings Canyon in the Centre, are being used to test the viability of flat-plate solar photovoltaic (PV) technology to reduce the consumption of distillate. They add about 30% capacity to the power plant in an efficient way, as peak demand in the Northern Territory closely matches the availability of solar power over the course of a day.
Solar panels reduce the need for diesel, reduce greenhouse emissions and contain the cost of power generation. The Bulman project was completed in November 2002 and generates 56kW peak, saving about 70 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. The Kings Canyon project was completed in December 2003 and generates 241kW peak. The project, worth $3.6 million, is the largest single installation of its kind in Australia. The panels have an expected life of 25 years.
The Corporation also participates in the Australian Government’s solar buy back scheme. The Department of Business, Economic and Regional Development offers a rebate on the purchase of the solar equipment. Power and Water enters into contractual arrangements with customers for the purchase of the electricity.