No man is an island, nor is a council. Increasingly, the best practice cases emerging from councils are holistic in approach and collaborative in their implementation.

2018 Partnerships and Collaboration Award winners:

Lismore Community Solar Initiative – Lismore City Council, NSW

Congratulations to the team: Sharyn Hunnisett, Garon Clough and Steve Dillion.

About

Lismore City Council’s biggest organisational goal is self-generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2023. The Community Solar Initiative is the flagship project of this goal, and became the first council-owned, community funded solar farm in Australia.

The initative boasts two 100kW solar farms – one of the nation’s largest floating solar farms now sits on the overflow ponds at the East Lismore Sewage Treatment Plant. The second is a rooftop solar farm at Goonellabah Sports & Aquatic Centre.

The rooftop solar farm is now providing 15% of the aquatic centre’s power requirements while the floating solar farm’s 280 solar panels generate 12% of the East Lismore Sewage Treatment Plant’s energy requirements.

Information about Lismore City Council’s renewable Energy Masterplan can be found here:

https://www.lismore.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/page.asp?p=DOC-QMM-54-48-20