Media Release - Council's Budget and the Environment Reap the Benefits

Published on 07 November 2023

MEDIA RELEASE(PDF, 362KB) |  WEDDIN SHIRE COUNCIL

COUNCIL’S BUDGET AND THE ENVIRONMENT REAP THE BENEFITS OF BUYING RENEWABLE ENERGY

In 2022, Councils across Central NSW and the Riverina came together to buy electricity.

“The mission was to buy well-priced renewable energy and to have price certainty for the medium term,” said Mayor Bembrick.

“Central NSW Councils have been buying electricity together for decades and have been slammed by pricing volatility on a number of occasions – looking into the future we formed the view that this volatility was only going to get worse,” said Mayor Bembrick.

“Electricity procurement is very complex and there are strict rules for what Councils can and can’t do. With the support of funding from the NSW Government and councils the region was able to buy in expert advisors in renewable energy procurement and probity,” said Mayor Bembrick.

“We were also very lucky to get pro bono legal advice from our Riverina Regional Organisation of Councils partners”.

A renewable electricity supply agreement for large sites and streetlighting was awarded to Iberdrola, a gen-tailer of renewable energy. The contract commenced 1 January 2023.  While every Council is using renewable energy, under the rules in Australia Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) must also be procured to claim that the electricity is renewable.  78% of all electricity procured under these rules across the 11 Councils in this contract is renewable with some councils choosing to go 100%.

“It gets better – we also know from the pricing provided during the procurement phase that this region has saved $2.3m in the first six months of the contract by transferring to renewables from more traditional energy generators like coal,” said Mayor Bembrick.

For Weddin Shire Council, the savings from this collaborative effort in the first 6 months are insert $23,142.00

“I can confidently say not only has our mission been completed – but we have bought renewable energy for cheaper than black power – a win for both the hip pocket and our environment,” said Mayor Bembrick.

ENDS

7 NOVEMBER 2023