The Victorian Government is establishing itself as a climate change leader and has legislated an ultimate goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
To support this goal, the government established the Greener Government School Buildings (GGSB) program to help schools become more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
We're doing this by helping schools install solar power systems to generate renewable energy.
The 2020-21 program is expected to:
- install 6.9 megawatts of solar panels
- generate over 9,000 megawatts of electricity – an energy saving which is the equivalent of powering more than 700 houses for a year
- reduce CO2 emissions by more than 10,000 tonnes – equivalent to taking over 2,000 cars off the road for a year
- save schools over $1.8 million on electricity bills.
The program will invest up to $8.8 million, enough to install solar at 171 schools.
The full list of schools can be viewed here.
The GGSB program is supporting jobs and local businesses across Victoria to help drive our economic recovery from the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The program began with a pilot at 42 schools in 2018-19, which:
- generated 1,230 megawatts of electricity – an energy saving which is the equivalent of powering 100 houses for a year
- reduced CO2 emissions by more than 1,350 tonnes – equivalent to taking 188 cars off the road for a year
- saved schools over $270,000 on electricity bills.
If you would like more information about the program, please contact the VSBA at greener.schools@education.vic.gov.au.