An Upper Hunter school will soon be generating its own electricity.
Vacy Public School will be part of an innovative pilot program exploring the potential for schools to use solar PV panels and batteries to generate electricity for themselves and even help the state’s energy grid.
Upper Hunter MP Dave Layzell said he’s thrilled a local school is one of 25 in NSW with the opportunity to take part.
“This is a great initiative for our local public schools in NSW, and I am delighted to know that our electorate will have one of the 25 NSW schools involved in this exciting initiative,” Dave Layzell said.
“Vacy Public School is taking part in the pilot, and I very much I look forward to hearing from the school principal and students about how the pilot progresses.”
The pilot project aims to assess the benefits and costs of the large-scale implementation of solar PV systems and batteries, together with other initiatives that can reduce demand on the energy network.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the potential of the Schools Renewable Energy Infrastructure Pilot Project is limitless.
“In NSW, we have 2,200 public schools, and combined they have a roof space of 8 million square meters. That is almost 2,000 football fields worth of space ready for power production,” Sarah Mitchell said.
“By producing solar energy, schools will benefit from lower energy bills, and batteries will store any excess solar energy for later use or it can be sold to the energy grid,”
“We estimate the 25 schools will save $300,000 in power bills, money which can go back into education, and any unused power can go into the grid.”
“NSW is leading the country in school design, and this pilot project is one innovative way we are looking at powering, cooling and heating our schools.”
Image credit: Dave Layzell MP