Newcastle, leading the way in smart energy use

Source: Newcastle City Council

Council projects such as the ECO¶STAR™ program and Water Harvesting and Reuse project, continue to strengthen Newcastle’s position as a leader in environmental sustainability.

Last Thursday I had the pleasure to launch the new Water Harvest System at Newcastle’s Stockton Tourist Park, which will be used for irrigation of the park and in the future flushing of toilets.

The new system adds another green star to the parks recent ECO¶STAR™ Rating. Smart hot water, dual flush toilets and AAA showers and taps have already been installed in the Park.

Launched in September 2005, the ECO¶STAR™ Project is helping to improve the way water and energy is used within our community facilities, through the installation of water and energy saving devices.

The program aims to improve the environmental performance of council facilities through the reduction of resource consumption and the implementation of waste recycling. The project also helps to generate awareness of importance of environmental sustainability and prove the benefits of taking action to improve it.

Newcastle’s Stockton Tourist Park and the City of Newcastle is setting an example of how energy and water efficiency as well as financial savings can be achieved, one that the community will hopefully be encouraged to follow in their own homes.

On a wider scale Newcastle and the Hunter Region are leading the way to create smart energy options for the whole community by submitting a bid in the Solar Cities program.

Solar Cities is a $75million federally funded initiative trial to identify new ways for communities to find smarter ways to use energy in their homes and business. The Solar Newcastle bid is still in the running for a share of the funding with two cities having already been announced.

I encourage the community to support the ECO¶STAR™ Project and its rated facilities and to continue to work together to cement Newcastle as a leader in resource efficiency.

For further information about Council’s environmental programs including ECO¶STAR™ call Steele Adams on 02 4974 2805.