City of Kwinana to save nearly $250,000 per year after making switch to renewable energy

The City of Kwinana’s biggest energy-guzzling sites switched to renewable energy sources earlier in April.

Twelve locations, including the Kwinana Recquatic Centre, the City Administration Building and the Darius Wells Library and Resource Centre, made the change under an agreement negotiated by the Western Australian Local Government Association.

The WALGA agreement was adopted by the State Government and will see 100 per cent renewable power to 48 councils across the State.

Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams said making the switch to renewables was the right move for the City both economically and environmentally.

“The council has the potential to save up to $243,000 per year across the initial three-year agreement which is a substantial saving while moving in the right direction towards a more sustainable future,” Ms Adams said.

The Kwinana sites will be powered by renewable energy sourced from one or a combination of WA’s three wind farms in Emu Downs, Albany and Collgar (near Merredin).

The energy switch builds on the City’s commitment to sustainability after it achieved a 30.2 per cent reduction in emissions over five years from 2015-20.

The City’s new Climate Change Plan 2021-26 aims for a reduction in “carbon dioxide equivalent emissions” generated by City operations by 5 per cent per capita of Kwinana’s 2019-20 population levels by 2024-25.

“The new emissions reduction target of 5 per cent per capita over the five-year plan period reflects the fact that the City has already implemented some of the most cost-effective initiatives, and from this point, it is likely to become more costly to achieve further reductions,” Ms Adams said.

The Mayor said the 5 per cent target did not include the City’s recent renewable electricity contract, meaning emissions reduction could well be greater than 5 per cent per capita.