QUEANBEYAN City Council will save thousands of dollars in electricity costs due to a new, 40.25 Kilowatt solar power system installed at the Queanbeyan Library this week.
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The 158 solar panels will cut Council's energy use by more than 60,000kWh, or around $20,000 per year. With a total cost of $110,000, the system will have paid for itself within six years.
"This is a very exciting project for Queanbeyan City Council," Mayor Tim Overall said.
"Council has allocated a total of $385,000 over the life of its Delivery Program 2013-17 ... to fund a number of alternate energy generation projects. Staff are currently investigating the best options for this funding.
"Energy costs make up a significant amount of Council's annual budget and initiatives such as this that reduce that cost are most welcome," he said.
The solar rollout could soon extend to a number of other Council buildings around Queanbeyan, including The Q, the RB Smith Centre and the Aquatic Centre, with Council staff to investigate how best to allocate the remaining $275,000 in the renewable fund.
"Just looking around I noticed the number of flat-roof platforms on Council buildings that lend themselves to solar panels," Cr Overall said.
"And it's all part of our climate change action plan, which I'm quite passionate about," he said.
