Thanks to a new solar panel array, Queanbeyan Library’s electricity bill will be slashed by around $20,000 a year.
200 solar panels are being installed on the Library’s roof that will generate approximately 60,000 kilowatt-hours annually.
“This is a very exciting project for Queanbeyan City Council,” Queanbeyan Mayor, Cr Tim Overall said. “The benefits of using solar power are clear to see and we are expecting this to reduce the cost of power used by the Library by around $20,000 per year, with a payback period of six years.”
“Energy costs make up a significant amount of Council’s annual budget and initiatives such as this that will reduce that cost are most welcomed.”
As well as saving Council a bundle of cash, the solar power system will also significantly reduce the Queanbeyan Library’s carbon footprint – by more than 50,000 kilograms a year.
The Queanbeyan Library system is expected to be completed on December 20.
Other Councils have also seen the light when it comes to saving on electricity for their libraries.
Port Macquarie Hastings Council invested in a 99kW solar power system from Energy Matters for its library to help reduce operational costs.
Installed in October last year; the system, comprised of REC solar panels, SMA inverters and SunLock mounting systems will generate approximately 154 megawatt hours (154,000 kWh) annually save Port Macquarie Hastings Council in the region of $35,000 a year.
The system was designed so the arrays reach their peak generation at different times of the day, helping to ensure consistent power generation throughout the day.
Commercial solar uptake had been a little slow in Australia up until recently; but with electricity price rises continuing to hit businesses and other organisations hard, 2014 may be the year that medium-scale solar really takes off around the country.
