World Environment Day: Behind the Meter

Tuesday, June 1st, 2021

South Gippsland Water saluted the sun this World Environment Day with solar panels.

As part of our ongoing pledge to reduce our carbon footprint, we’ve invested $2.54 million at four of our facilities in
efforts to reduce our energy consumption and provide a more energy efficient system.

Graeme Watkins, Senior Project Engineer said South Gippsland Water chose sites in Inverloch, Korumburra, Lance Creek and Leongatha for this project as they are high energy use sites or provide the best return on investment.

“We’re pleased to announce panels in Inverloch and Korumburra are up and running, while Lance Creek is in the
testing stages and is expected to be complete by mid-June,” he said.

“The solar panels installed have a combined generation of just over 1.Gigawatt over the four sites; meaning that the return is astronomical. The energy provided by the solar panels will provide electricity to the treatment plants including pumps, aerators, sewerage screen, blowers, batching plants, control valves and instrument and control equipment as well as providing excess energy into the power grid.”

“As an organisation we strive to continuously make our operations eco-friendlier. Solar panels are just one of our
many steps in reducing our carbon footprint”.

South Gippsland Water’s Managing Director Philippe du Plessis said World Environment Day was an ideal time to reflect on the organisation’s commitment to providing its customers with sustainable water and wastewater services.

“On World Environment Day we holistically looked at how we can be allies in restoring our planet. Our Behind the Meter solar project is an excellent example of how we can continue to provide reliable services, in a more sustainable way,” he said.