Council slowly going green

By Thomas Moir

Mar 2, 2019

Shepparton’s council buildings are gradually becoming greener.

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Solar panels are being installed on Greater Shepparton City Council assets in an environmentally sustainable push, but also in a reaction to escalating power prices.

Chief executive Peter Harriott said the Eastbank Centre has been completed and the council’s Doyles’s Rd complex would soon be finished.

But it is planning more.

Mr Harriott aspired to solar being installed on one council asset or building each year.

He said potential savings from the installations depended on power prices.

‘‘If they go through the roof, we save a big percentage,’’ he said.

A tendered contract Mr Harriott awarded under delegated authority is listed as ‘‘Design and construction of solar PV systems at Doyles Rd Complex and Mooroopna Hub’’.

The awarded lump sum contract is valued at almost $225000.

In March last year, council also awarded a lump sum contract of about $225000 for solar installation on council buildings.

In November last year, the council predicted the amount it paid for power might increase by up to 50 or 60 per cent in coming years.

A parliamentary inquiry in Shepparton into the health of regional councils’ finances in 2017 heard from council representatives about the impact rising power prices had on finances.

By Thomas Moir