Is the Illawarra the most sustainable region of clubs in Australia?
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The recent installation of a 100kW Solar PV System at Wests Illawarra has brought the total capacity installed by Illawarra Sustainable Clubs Alliance members to 1,056kW (1.06MWh).
The group of 26 Illawarra clubs work collectively to improve their sustainability performance.
Warilla Bowls Club (416kW) has the largest system for any club in Australia.
This program is administered by Rana Environmental.
"This is a huge figure and one that demonstrates collective, community based progress towards the application of renewable energy.
"Indeed, the Illawarra is arguably the most sustainable region of clubs in Australia," Rana Environmental principal consultant Levi Gibson said.
Mr Gibson added the clubs collective saving is circa $217,000 or 1260 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum.
Wests Illawarra operations manager Matt Demos said the club's new system will save it about $20,000 a year in electricity costs.
The club expects to recoup the cost of the system ($80,720) in four years.
"With a large majority of Wests Illawarra recently renovated, and the ever increasing cost of electricity, solar has now become a high priority item on the club's strategic direction. We had been investigating solar options over the past few years and are pleased we have started our solar program," Mr Demos said.
"The next part of our solar program is the installation of a further 100kW in 2021 following some roof repairs above our auditorium. We are also looking at an installation at Port Kembla Golf Club.
"We installed a 100kW system due to the amount of suitable roof space we had available.
"By installing a 100kW system this allowed us to receive upfront credits on the cost of the system through Small-scale technology certificates (STCs). The system will present around $20,000 per year in savings."
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