Logan City Council hits 1 MW solar mark

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With the installation of a 100kW system atop the Logan North Aquatic Centre, Logan City Council believes that the combined generational output of its 25 solar systems has passed the 1 MW mark. 

The 303 solar panels now shimmering on the Aquatic Centre roof follow closely on the heels of a 70kW system at Mt Warren Sports Centre, a 55kW system at Marsden Library, an 83kW array atop the Logan North Library and a neat little 18kW number at the Logan West Community Centre. This all means that Logan City Council’s combined solar savings are expected to reach an estimated $140,000 annually and reduce CO2 emissions by 930 tonnes. 

City Planning, Economic Development and Environmental Committee Chair Councillor Jon Raven said that council support of the renewables industry is helping to create jobs in Logan, and, what is more, “Embracing solar is good for the environment and for the bottom line.” 

The 1 MW mark is not the only solar milestone Logan City Council has achieved recently, and nor is Council ready to rest on its laurels. A recent 150 kW install at Cedar Grove Environmental Centre marks Council’s first ground-based solar system, and Loganholme Wastewater Treatment Plant is readying itself a 1 MW system all to itself, set to come online in 2021/2022. 

The 1 MW system at Looganholme Wastewater Treatment Plant will be used to energise the site’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funded new technology project to turn biosolids into heat energy and biochar. 

Council’s 2020/2021 budget, released on Monday, July 20, also include $308,000 for the installation of 200 kW atop Council Administration Centre in Logan Central. Council told pv magazine Australia that it expects to save an additional $38,400 on its annual electricity bill and reduce CO2 emissions by a further 250 tonnes per year. 

It is Logan City Council’s goal to be carbon-neutral by 2022, an ambition powered largely by solar PV and no doubt supported in the community, 41,000 of which have their own solar PV systems. 

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