THE treasurer of Maiden Gully Fire Brigade said other local CFA stations could benefit from solar and battery systems like theirs.<\/p>\n
The brigade received its 6.6-kilowatt system about 12 months ago, resulting in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from about six tonnes to just over two.<\/p>\n
Electricity bills have been reduced by 85 per cent, down from $1550 to $250 a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe CFA pays the power bill, but it\u2019s still community money and it\u2019d be better to have that money go to fire trucks and better equipment,\u201d treasurer Andrew Howlett said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most obvious benefit is that when the power goes out, we don\u2019t lose power. We can still open our doors and our computer systems don\u2019t go down, so we\u2019ve still got our maps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Howlett said over the 12 months there have been at least 15 outages due to storms or maintenance work, but the solar battery keeps the power on.<\/p>\n
He also said the project was an example of CFA brigades\u2019 community leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should be showing we\u2019re responsible citizens,\u201d he said. \u201cWe might fight fires and do all that critical stuff, but we\u2019re also trying to do the right thing in terms of carbon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand about climate change because we see it, we\u2019ve seen it for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The solar panels and battery were funded in part by a $12,500 Federal Government grant.<\/p>\n
The rest of the funding, some $7200, was raised by the brigade with help from Maiden Gully IGA and Bendigo UFS Pharmacy\u2019s healthier communities program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE treasurer of Maiden Gully Fire Brigade said other local CFA stations could benefit from solar and battery systems like theirs. The brigade received its 6.6-kilowatt system about 12 months ago, resulting in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from about six tonnes to just over two. Electricity bills have been reduced by 85 per […]<\/p>\n