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New solar panels at Paynesville water recycling facility will produce 150 MWh for East Gippsland reducing emissions and cutting costs

East Gippsland Water installed 200 solar panels at their water recycling facility, expected to produce 150 MWh of power and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as part of their program to reduce emissions and operational costs.

By news@gippsland - 29th March 2023 - Back to News

East Gippsland Water is about to switch on 200 new solar panels at their Paynesville water recycling facility - to offset the site's energy needs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For the $240,000 project, five banks of 40 solar panels each have been installed - which together span an area of 1,250 square metres. It is calculated that this solar array will produce up to 150 megawatt hours of power a year.

Since January 2021, East Gippsland Water has been able to reduce costs by purchasing solar power at a cheaper rate

Emission reduction initiative

It will be used to run the Paynesville facility's aerators and irrigation pumps - which are integral to the recycling process. Any surplus electricity generated will be fed back into the grid. Importantly, it is expected to reduce East Gippsland Water's overall greenhouse gas emissions by up to 130 tonnes a year.

East Gippsland Water's Managing Director, Steve McKenzie, said, "This is just one project in a raft of initiatives being implemented under a major program to help us meet our organisation's target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 44 per cent by 1 July 2025. Even more important, we have a commitment to achieve zero net emissions by 2035. "This is a win-win situation, benefiting the environment and reducing our operating costs."

Solar initiative progress

Looking at solar alone East Gippsland Water has commissioned a total of 366 kilowatts of solar systems across 19 sites in recent years. In addition, the organisation is in an energy partnership with 12 other Victorian water corporations to collectively purchase solar power from the Kiamal Solar Farm in north-west Victoria.

This initiative went live in January 2021 and continues to be significant in East Gippsland Water's drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce operational costs - by enabling the purchase of solar power at a cheaper rate.

Pictures from East Gippsland Water website.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com