Big crowd at Clean Energy meeting

Bega District News
Tuesday 5/6/2007 Page: 5

THE Bermagui Country Club auditorium was packed to overflowing on Sunday afternoon for a Clean Air for Energy meeting.

President for Clean Energy for Eternity, Matthew Nott, said the Bega Valley and neighbouring shires should set themselves up as centres of excellence for renewable energy with their aims of 50 per cent reduction in energy use from renewable sources by 2020. He said the small town of Ararat in Victoria had embraced wind farming and now had a factory producing wind turbine blades that employed 700 people.

In Austria, the town of Guessing with a population of 4,000 in 1989 was now the home to the European Centre of Renewable Energy and 1,000 new jobs had come on line in 15 years in the renewable energy projects there.

Phillipa Rowland, Derek Povel and Bill Caldicott from the Clean Energy working group showed in graphs and pie charts how much power we use and the effects this consumption had on the atmosphere. On a positive note they then explained what people could do to change the situation that day, the next month and the next year.

That day they could contact their energy supplier and sign on to Greenpower; they could check their tyres to make sure that were pumped up properly; and then drive home at a slower pace. Once home they could be economical with lights, cooking and heating. They were told 20 per cent of their energy consumption was on hot water so they should have shorter showers, not only to save water but to save power.

Dr Nott asked those in the hall whether they had low energy lighting in their homes and a sea of hands went up. On a monthly basis people could check the design of their houses, their insulation and their curtains. Energy saving devices could be retro-fitted to make homes more sustainable, they were told.

What people could do in a year was think very carefully about the car they drove and whether it would be possible to switch to a hybrid. They could also look into installing gas hot water or have a solar hot water system backed by electricity or, ideally, have a complete solar system providing all needed electricity and returning some to the grid.

Sculptor Richard Moffatt said communication and education were a big part of the campaign and explained how this happened through the installation of the Cyclone Eternity sculpture.

Derek Povel said the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla Shire Councils were working toward the 50/50 by 2020 solution, subsidising the installation of solar and wind energy at the Bega and Pambula Surf Clubs. Council staff were also looking to use smaller cars and globes in council offices had been changed to light energy globes.

Bill Caldicott called in those in the hall to start using their influence at their schools, their churches or any other organisations to which they belonged to become carbon neutral.

A wind farm could be set up in the shire and this was being examined by those who could measure whether such a development would work. Dr Nott reiterated that going forward with renewable energy would be. a source of jobs and help the economy, not the opposite.

He said that Bermagui could spread the message by having a 50/50 by 2020 sign on its water tower but council said the community would have to agree so he was asking whether people were in favour of that move and they were unanimously.

Students from Bermagui Public School, Lumen Christi Christian College and Moruya High School spoke on what they doing to reduce energy use.