Swimming pool changes could save as much electricity as a large solar power station

A change to the operation of more than 1,400 swimming pools in Alice Springs could result in large-scale electricity savings and over half a million dollars staying in homeowners’ pockets.

The revelation has been made by Alice Solar City after an analysis of pool ownership in the town and the results of a recent pool pump competition.

Alice Solar City General Manager Sam Latz says that the 1,400 residential swimming pools in the town collectively consume an estimated 3,100 Megawatt Hours (MWh) of electricity per year, costing $880,000.
“That’s over $600 per household each year just to run a pool pump” says Sam Latz.

“If all these pools were to switch to using a ‘variable speed’ pool pump and were operated for maximum savings, we would save 2,000MWh of electricity worth $560,000 per year, along with 1,400 tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions.”

“This is close to the savings being achieved at the Uterne solar power station, located south of the town.”

“To switch all pool owners to using a variable speed pump would be a collective cost of $1.5 million, an investment which would repay itself in savings in less than three years.
“Further, we would reduce peak demand on our electricity network depending when the pumps run, avoiding the need for more expensive investment in power lines and generators.”

Mr Latz says that the savings were evidenced during a recent push to get pool owners to undertake a free Pool Energy Consultation.

“We know that homeowners are keen to find ways to reduce their electricity bills, especially with the recent increase in power prices. So we offered pool owners the chance to have a free Pool Energy Consultation over summer, highlighting that pools typically make up 30% of the power bill.”

“We conducted 42 consultations as part of the competition and consistently found that 50% energy savings could be achieved if a new variable speed pool pump was installed, or a variable speed controller installed onto the existing standard pool pump.”

“We also found that pool pumps are often set to run more than necessary, and pool owners can further reduce their pool-related electricity costs by altering the pool pumping schedule.”

One lucky Alice Springs household Fred Miegel took up the offer of the pool consultation and won the draw to win the competition prize of $1000 towards a variable speed pool pump, which will help them save $400 on their power bills each year.

“It’s nice to know that what we were doing was pretty close to getting maximum energy savings, but with the new pool pump we’ll be able to save even more”, said Mr Miegel.

Sam Latz said, “If all pool owners switched to the variable speed pool pump it would present a great opportunity for not only the town, but for homeowner’s hip-pockets.”

Five families secure affordable futures

The lives of five Territory families changed last week after they secured an affordable house and land package at Zuccoli.

Five packages, priced from $475,550 to $542,000, went on sale for low to middle income earners who had progressed their application to approved purchaser status under the government’s Territory Government’s Real Housing for Growth Plan.

Sold on a first in, first served basis, Jenna Hingston said she was delighted to be one of the successful buyers.

“It’s a dream come true. I couldn’t breathe and they (Urbex) were trying to ask me questions. I think I was in shock,” she said.

Ms Hingston, who’s always wanted to own her own home, said she seriously looked at buying a property for more than a year.

“I’m just really grateful. I missed out on the last housing release in February, which was disappointing.

“To be the first caller through this time and know that a brand new home will be mine makes it all worth it.”

Urbex General Manager Wayne Rex said the sales followed the recent success of the housing release at Johnston Ridge.

“Urbex is committed to providing a range of affordable home ownership opportunities for Territorians,” Mr Rex said.

“Our team has worked hard with government and local builders to deliver a range of quality house and land packages at affordable price points.”

The house and land packages included home designs by the Bendella Group, NIMM Constructions and The Total Group.

To be eligible for the government’s Real Housing for Growth Plan home buyer initiative,  buyers must meet eligibility criteria including income limits and have finance approval in-principle.  

Zuccoli is a master planned community developed by Urbex in partnersip with the Northern Territory’s Land Development Corporation.

When complete the suburb, located along Lambrick avenue just off Stuart Highway, will be the largest in Palmerston and will incorporate schools, sporting facilities, commercial/retail centres, community facilities and an extensive range of walking and bicylce tracks.

People wanting more information on life at the Village can visit www.zuccolivillage.com.au or call Janzey Pratt on 1300 556 950.

Application kits and further information about the Territory Government’s Real Housing for Growth Plan can be found at www.housing.nt.gov.au.

TIO joins forces with CAFL to promote road safety

TIO has joined forces with the Central Australian Football League as naming rights sponsor to promote road safety in Central Australia.

TIO Chief Executive Richard Harding said around 600 players and thousands of fans across Alice Springs and remote Central Australia participated in CAFL activities.

“People love their footy in Central Australia and we’re hoping to leverage that to get the road safety message out,” Mr Harding said.

“Our support for footy in the Top End has allowed us to work with the AFL on a range of road safety initiatives, including the Road Safety Day in January. Our support for the CAFL will bring this important message to central Australians.

“It is a particularly important message for CAFL players and their fans. Each week more than 300 players travel on unsealed roads from Indigenous communities to and from Alice Springs to participate in the competition, travelling distances of up to 720km for a round trip.

CAFL Regional Manager Andy Hood said the three-year partnership is one of the most important the CAFL has been involved with for many years. “The partnership will help with the sustainability of the CAFL over the next three years,” he said.

“Just as important is the opportunity to work together to promote road safety messages through AFL football throughout Central Australia and educating Territorians about road safety.

“Our players travel a lot of kilometres on difficult roads, so getting the road safety message out to them is critical.”

Mr Harding said TIO was proud to extend its road safety football programs into Central Australia.

“As administrators of the NT Government Motor Accidents Compensation Scheme, we have made a conscious decision to align our sponsorships and community engagement activities to provide lasting benefits to the Territory.

“We want young drivers to be aware of their choices and know the consequences, and this is a great opportunity to engage with them through something they are passionate about,” he said.

Alice Springs becomes first Australian town to adopt voluntary water use guidelines

A new water use Guide, which lists the top six actions to help Alice Springs residents save water will be launched today on World Water Day at a free community breakfast, 7-9am on the Town Council lawns.

The Alice Water Smart Guide is a culmination of local knowledge, the results of almost 1000 professional Water Efficiency Consultations by Alice Water Smart and input and feedback from the Alice Springs community. A volunteer Citizens’ Advisory Panel helped pull it all together.

“It has been developed for locals, by locals”, says Alice Water Smart Homes and Business Manager Liz Locksley.

“The top six actions have been chosen as they will have the biggest impact on water savings, but at the same time, very little impact on the great lifestyle that Alice people have come to love – beautiful gardens, outdoor BBQs and a dip in the pool.”

“The Guide offers advice and ideas for saving water, including choosing the correct irrigation, when and how long to water gardens and different plants types, and how to detect hidden leaks.”

“Implementing the Actions is completely voluntary for residents and businesses, but if they do they will be rewarded at the hip pocket.”

“If we all do just a couple of Actions in the Guide we will be playing our part to make Alice water smart for the long term and helping to make the town’s non-renewable water supply last longer.”

“Five of the six actions focus on gardens and leaks, as this is where more than 75% of water is wasted in homes and businesses. That surprises a lot of people.”

“The Actions describe the way we use water in Alice Springs, and include:

1. Use efficient irrigation and adjust watering times seasonally

2. Water between 8pm-8am

3. Schedule watering

4. Fix leaks quickly

5. Find hidden leaks

6. Encourage others to be water smart
Northern Territory Minister for Land Resource Management and Essential Services, Willem Westra van Holthe said the Alice Water Smart Guide is timely, when residents are looking for ways to reduce their water use.

“It’s great to see the Alice Springs community taking the initiative on this vitally important program,” Mr Westra van Holthe said.
“Water reserves, particularly in the arid zone, are our most precious asset. We all have a part to play in the responsible management of this resource.”

Copies of the Alice Water Smart Guide are available from the Alice Springs Town Council, Power and Water in the Alice Plaza and various sites around town or can be downloaded from www.alicewatersmart.com.au

Alice Water Smart is supported by the Australian Government through the Water for the Future initiative.

Adam Giles new Chief Minister for the Northern Territory

The Country Liberals Party chairman has confirmed Adam Giles as the new Chief Minister for the Northern Territory, becoming the first Aboriginal state or territory leader in Australia.

The following background information on Adam Giles has been confirmed from a number of sources.

Key Points
·        First Aboriginal leader of a State or Territory in Australia
·        Elected to Parliament in 2008 as Member for Braitling
·        Lives in Alice Springs with wife and daughter
·        40 years old

Short Biography
(Source – Country Liberal Party website)

Adam was born in the Blue Mountains, NSW and began his working life in a bakery at the age of 12.

After high school he studied accounting and then real estate, working in property management before moving into public housing management for ATSIC.

He then moved to Canberra to work as a social and economic policy advisor for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. As a member of the NT’s Indigenous Economic Taskforce, Adam travelled and worked throughout the Territory before settling in Alice Springs.

It was after working for the Department of Employment and Workplace relations that Adam became frustrated with Labor’s welfare policy for Indigenous people and decided to run for the Federal seat of Lingiari for the CLP.

He lost but was elected to the Alice Springs seat of Braitling in 2008.

Adam believes in giving back to the community and is committed to securing a more prosperous Alice Springs.

He lives in Alice Springs with his wife, Tamara and has a daughter.

Social Media

·        Twitter: http://twitter.com/adamgiles
·        Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/adam.giles.9693

Batman water treatment program delivers excellent results

Vista Gold Australia announced today that its water treatment program for Mt Todd’s Batman Pit had delivered excellent results with 97% of all metals in the top 15 metres of the water having been taken out.

Brent Murdoch, Vista Gold General Manager said that the in-situ water treatment program had produced an outstanding improvement on the quality of the water in Batman Pit.

“Vista Gold has invested $9 million into this water treatment program. We have added 10,000 tonnes of finely ground limestone and 2,000 tonnes of quicklime to the water and it is paying off.”

“Just as the scientists said it would, the limestone has caused a chemical reaction in the water, increased the pH level and caused the metals to precipitate to the bottom.”

Since October last year the pH level in Batman Pit has increased from an acidic 3.3 to a pH level of 7.5.

Recent reports have raised concerns about the level of cadmium in the water, which Mr Murdoch says is one of the slowest metals to drop out.

“79% of the cadmium has already gone from the top 15 metres, or pumping zone, and we expect it to continue to reduce as the metal responds to the treatment,” he said.

Vista Gold was recently issued a Waste Discharge Licence by the Northern Territory Government for the release of water from the mine site into the Edith River. It has not however, discharged any water from Batman Pit this wet season.

Batman Pit currently holds 10.3 gigalitres of treated water. Vista Gold will only release the water when the quality of the water and the flow of the Edith River meet specific environmental protection levels.

Under the terms of the Waste Discharge Licence, Vista Gold is required to publish water monitoring results on its website when it discharges water. The company has made a commitment to the community beyond this and is already publishing weekly water treatment results on www.mttodd.com.au.

A table showing all of the metal values in Batman Pit is also now available on the website.

“Vista Gold is committed to ensuring that the water in the Edith River meets the Australia Drinking Water Guidelines for Health,” he said. “This is our commitment to the community.”

For more information on the RP3 Water Treatment Metal Reductions go to: http://mttodd.com.au/environment

'WATER RULES' ARE OUT SAYS CITIZENS' ADVISORY PANEL

The Citizens’ Advisory Panel that has been guiding the development of the proposed ‘Community Water Rules’ in Alice Springs has responded to the community’s call to change the name.

The new name for the set of voluntary guidelines is the 'Alice Water Smart Guide'.

The Alice Water Smart Guide will include the top six water use actions to help residents become more water efficient, and will be launched on World Water Day, 22 March, at a community breakfast on the Council lawns, 7-9am.

Panel spokesperson Michelle Cooper said “It was a unanimous decision. The name Alice Water Smart Guide is the right fit with our hopes for this initiative. We heard the community’s call for the working title of ‘Community Water Rules,’ to be changed.”

“Our hope is that it helps Alice Springs residents understand how precious our water is, and how we can all play a part in reducing our water use through small simple actions.” said Michelle.

“We are positive that the outcomes of this Guide will be beneficial to the community particularly given the recent water tariff price rises”.

“We’d like the Guide to inspire new ideas and innovation about water – there’s always room for improvement and more to learn. The Guide will be a living document and we welcome feedback on the content when it is launched.”

To decide on the name and content of the Guide, the Panel considered feedback from public surveys and workshops conducted by Alice Water Smart, as well as from more than 850 Water Efficiency Consultations conducted in Alice Springs homes.

It will be widely distributed to everyone in town, including new residents, through real estate agents, cafes, hotels and as a magnet for everyone’s fridge door.

“We’d even like it included in tours of Alice Springs so visitors learn how we value water here in our desert oasis” says Ms Cooper.

Alice Water Smart is a comprehensive set of projects helping Alice Springs residents to save 1600 million litres of water over two years - equivalent to two months average water supply.

To ‘learn more about the Alice Water Smart Guide visit www.alicewatersmart.com.au

Alice Water Smart is supported by the Australian Government’s Water for the Future initiative.

Honourable mentions for Creative Territory in CSR Awrds

Creative Territory has received two honourable mentions in PR Daily's Corporate Social Responsibility Awards announced today.

Our work during and after Cyclone Carlos in 2011 was honoured in the categories of Grand Prize CSR Campaign of the Year and CSR on a Shoestring.


Managing director Tracy Jones said it was an honour for the whole Creative Territory team to be selected among the world’s top public relations campaigns for CSR.


Entries come from a wide range of industries and organisations, from multi-national corporations, local governmental agencies and communication companies in industries as broad as energy, finance, entertainment, insurance, mining and healthcare.

PR Daily is a web-based publication read by more than 800,000 communication professionals in every country in the world.

More information is available on PR Daily's website.

Bird's eye study of Alice Springs reveals solar potential

The first ever aerial study of Alice Springs’ solar and energy efficiency status reveals significant renewable energy achievements in the town, as well as opportunities for future policy and planning.

The study revealed the number of substantial buildings, white painted roofs, swimming pools, solar hot water and solar photovoltaic (PV) power installations.

“An analysis of the available space on Alice Springs roofs reveals there is space for around 48 MW of solar PV, even allowing for Power and Water size guidelines”, says Alice Solar City General Manager Sam Latz.

“This represents 33% of Alice Springs energy needs, so there’s lots of potential for rooftop solar yet.”

“However past a certain point, we will need additional investment in the network to support the export of surplus energy from where it’s generated to where it’s needed.”

The research was conducted by CAT Projects as part of a broader study that is investigating the implications of increasing solar power in Alice Springs, and was supported by Alice Solar City and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

 “We have been able to extract information that is useful for future planning, such as the potential space for more rooftop PV installations and potential electricity savings if more energy efficiency measures were undertaken.”

“This sort of bird’s eye view of Alice Springs allows us to see how far we have come, but perhaps more importantly, where we go in the future”, said Mr Latz

“Since Alice Springs became a Solar City in March 2008 the number of solar PV installations has increased from just two, to over 700, with Alice Solar City helping to fund two thirds of the current installed capacity of 4 Megawatts (MW), of which 2.6 MW is on rooftops.”

Also revealed in the study were further opportunities for large-scale electricity savings when looking at the number of solar hot water installations and roof colour.

There are over 4,700 existing solar hot water systems on household roofs, meaning around 55% of dwellings are using the sun for their hot water needs.

“Properly maintained and operated, these have the potential to save households a combined $3M per annum, and 7,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to using electric hot water systems.”

“Installing solar or heat pump hot water systems on the remaining dwellings would save an additional $2.4M per annum and 5,900 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, a saving of 4% of our total annual consumption.”

The study also looked at the number of white roofs in Alice Springs. A white roof reflects more of the sun’s energy, reducing inside temperatures and so reducing the need to run airconditioners as much.

 “We found that white roofs make up 21% of all residential roofs, however there are just as many dark roofs so there is still plenty of opportunity. Further, only 8% of commercial properties have a white roof. Given the high air conditioning loads during the day and limited use of roof insulation in the commercial sector, white roofs for businesses represents a great opportunity for straight forward energy savings.”

If the remaining houses and businesses had their roofs painted white, we would conservatively save a further $0.6M and 1,400 tonnes of emissions per annum.

Households and businesses can still contact Alice Solar City or visit the website for free advice and information on how they can go solar and on other energy efficiency measures.

Commercial program wraps up for Alice Solar City

After more than four and half years, almost 200 free energy surveys and $1.5M of funding support, Alice Solar City’s commercial program is coming to an end.

This coincides with the departure of Commercial Services Manager Craig Hanicek this Friday, who is leaving Alice Springs for a new renewable energy role in the ACT.

Throughout his 18 months in the job, Mr Hanicek provided energy surveys and advice to more than 65 of the 200 or so businesses participating in the program, whose combined energy consumption is equivalent to 4,700 average Alice Springs houses.

"It's been a rewarding experience assisting such a diverse range of operators across the private and public sectors in this incredibly demanding climate” says Mr Hanicek.

“Highlights for me have included the installation of a number of energy efficient technologies not previously trialed in Alice Springs, and helping several businesses go 100% solar with a combination of solar PV and energy efficiency."

The end of the Commercial Program comes four months short of the end of Alice Solar City’s current funding agreements in June 2013.

Customer and business owner of Easy Carwash, Andrew Ballestrin says that Alice Solar City provides a benchmark for what similar energy and water saving programs should be like.

“They made it so easy for us to save on our energy bills. Since installing energy efficient lighting at the carwash we are saving $500 per month, which is especially good in light of the recent power price rise.”

The commercial program launched in May 2008, and since that time it has:

• Attracted 217 customers who together represent over 38% of the Alice Springs commercial sector’s energy consumption.

• Supported a wide range of businesses from small to large, including Easy Carwash and the Crowne Plaza Alice Springs.

• Provided 193 customised energy surveys and funded 5 large-scale energy audits.

• Supported 39 solar PV installs, totalling 411kW of capacity with $1.1M of funding. These systems are generating around 700,000 kWh per annum, saving businesses over $200,000 per annum.

• Provided over $370,000 in funding for energy efficiency measures such as lighting upgrades, white roofs, solar and heat pump hot water, refrigeration upgrades and much more.

• Estimated savings from the supported energy efficiency measures are over 2,300,000 kWh per annum, saving participants $667,000 per annum.

• In total, carbon emission savings are estimated at over 2000 tonnes per annum.

Alice Solar City’s existing commercial customers will continue to receive access to information on their ongoing energy consumption, and businesses can still contact Alice Solar City for localised information on what other programs are available to support them in reducing energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions.

Commercial Case studies and a full list of incentive recipients can be found on the Alice Solar City website at www.alicesolarcity.com.au/business-case-studies

Details of the solar PV projects funded by Alice Solar City are also available at www.alicesolarcity.com.au/commercialpv