Councils across Western Australia are harnessing the benefits of renewable energy, because they recognise the time for serious action on climate change is now.
Late last year the Cities Power Partnership travelled to West Australia to bring together over 40 councils to discuss the opportunities for local government to capitalise on the benefits of the state’s emerging clean economy.
As well as hosting two events, we produced a video to showcase the impactful climate initiatives WA local governments are taking part in. One collaboration project really stood out to us – the joint power agreement coordinated by the WA Local Government Association (WALGA) that will see 48 councils source 100% of their facilities’ energy needs from local wind farms. Watch the success story here:
The video shows that regional and rural local governments like Shire of Northam and Shire of Mundaring can achieve energy wins (such as rooftop solar) at a solo level, but when they join forces their impact is multiplied.
One of the most impactful ways councils can collaborate to tackle climate challenges is through a group commitment to purchase renewable energy, often known as a Power Purchase Agreement. Key benefits for councils in taking this up include reduced energy costs, increased price certainty, and reduced emissions.
In the landmark agreement with Synergy, WALGA has coordinated for the 48 councils to offset their power supply with electricity produced from three wind farms across the region (Albany, Emu Downs and Collgar). Synergy and WALGA’s three-year energy partnership as a preferred supplier is a WA-first procurement initiative, and one of the largest energy procurement initiatives in Australia. Find out more about the agreement, including whether your WA council is taking part, here on WALGA’s website.
We want to give a special shout out to Jason Whiteaker (CEO at Shire of Northam), Cr Paige McNeil (Deputy President at Shire of Mundaring), and David Emery (Pool Manager at Northam Acquatic Facility) for their support in featuring in this video, and sharing what climate action looks like in their communities.
The Cities Power Partnership currently has 34 member councils across Western Australia and hopefully we’ll see more as we continue to showcase the benefits of council collaboration in tackling climate challenges.
