Alice Springs a Solar City – the heat is on!

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett and Northern Territory Chief Minister, Paul Henderson launched Alice Springs as the fifth Solar City in Australia on 10 March and opened the centrepiece, the Smart Living Centre.

Power and Water, a major partner in the Solar City consortium, joined locals at the launch and took the opportunity to talk to them about its role in supporting the initiatives of the Solar City project.

Power and Water is contributing $1.9 million ‘in-kind’ and $360,000 in funding to the project and will:

• Manage the cost reflective pricing trial
• Install around 400 smart meters
• In conjunction with Alice Solar City, increase the buyback rate for rooftop photovoltaic cells to make it consistent with peak period supply costs
• Progress a power purchase agreement with the Community Access Solar Farm project
• Support the Smart Living Centre shopfront and education service with funding of $60,000 per year
• Provide in kind support for the monitoring and reporting program to assess the success of various components of the project.

 
The Solar City project will position Alice Springs as Australia’s Solar Centre and reductions in CO2 emissions will be the equivalent of taking 22% of Alice Springs cars off the road.   The aim is for Alice Springs to become an Energy Champion – recognised nationally as a model for energy efficient living.