solar education

Media Release, The Australian, Matthew Franklin, 27 October 2007; The Sydney Morning Herald,
Mark Davis, 27 October 2007

 

Opposition Leader, Mr Kevin Rudd, recently launched Federal Labor’s National Solar Schools Plan. The scheme will
see Australia’s 9612 government and non-government primary and secondary schools become ‘solar schools’ in an
eight-year,  $489 million climate change initiative.

Under a Rudd government, the National Solar Schools Plan will offer schools grants of up to $20,000 to assist with purchasing and installing two kilowatt solar panels on school rooftops.

Labor is also planning to expand on the Government’s Green Voucher Scheme by offering schools a further grant of
up to $30,000 to install energy and water-saving equipment, which includes rainwater tanks, solar hot water systems
and energy efficient lighting upgrades.

The Green Voucher Scheme, announced on 17 July 2007, helps Australian primary and secondary schools improve
their energy and water efficiency by providing assistance for rainwater tanks, a solar hot water system or both, up to
the value of $50,000.

Mr Rudd believes that solar panels will help reduce schools’ power bills and save up to 2.8 tonnes of greenhouse gases
per year. He also believes that the initiative will help students better understand that climate change is an important
global issue.

Mr Rudd said that the installation of solar panels ‘is useful because for an average, modest primary school that will represent something like five percent of the total energy consumption for that particular school.’ He went on to say
that ‘solar schools’ would provide an ‘important contribution to the community and an important contribution to the
planet.’

 

 

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