Sustainable Living Armidale’s Energy Group is one of several action groups, who’ve had lots of energy since their inception a few years ago, with a variety of submissions, projects and activities.
The Energy Group have submitted comments on various State and Federal government papers and proposed regulations including to IPART on Solar Feed-in-Tariffs, the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme, energy efficiency, and wind farms, voicing our concerns from a regional and local community perspective.
SLA proposed to Council some years ago that, with the help of SLA fundraising, they should install solar panels on the roof of the town swimming pool. The intent was that the savings generated from the first installation be used to fund a second installation, then those savings combined to fund a third, and so on. When Council was awarded federal government infrastructure funding, it was decided that panels on the roof of the Visitors’ Information Centre would be more visible and create awareness — a great message to visitors as they drive into Armidale from the north.
The group were there at the beginning of the current Community Wind Farm project, New England Wind, including preparing and reviewing the survey. Several SLA members are still actively involved.
SLA Energy is half way through a two-year program called I Can Do it, thanks to a successful grant application to the NSW Environmental Trust. This has involved a series of hands-on workshops (curtain and pelmet making, energy use), public forums, and a house tour, to show people how they can reduce their environmental footprint, save energy and therefore save money. Thanks to the grant, it has been free to the public, showing people how they can do it themselves, even if they rent. The most recent forum-workshop, Electric Elephants, filled Kent House, reinforcing that people want to know real actions they can take to make a difference. The program will be running again in 2013.
SLA Energy Group is keen to continue working on more projects that will make a difference to the local community. They welcome and encourage new members — meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month at the SNELC offices in the East Mall from 1pm to 2pm. Contact Energy Convenor, Mahalath Halperin on
mh@mharchitects.com.au, or www.slaati.org.
