Coliban Water has made an impressive start to its carbon reduction journey – with nearly a quarter of its carbon emissions reduced to date.
Managing Director Damian Wells said the achievement is a fantastic outcome for the community and environment, and part of the water authority’s commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
“This reduction of almost 23 per cent is equivalent to reducing carbon emissions by 6,149 tonnes, or removing 2,200 cars off Victoria’s roads in one year.
“As our region continues to change and grow, we know demand for water and sewer services will steadily increase.
“While this carbon reduction is a great start, there is so much more to do. Our water reclamation plants and water treatment plants are big energy users – so it’s vital we prepare for the future and find a more sustainable approach.
“We’re already feeling the impacts of climate change and we need to continue to play our part in combating this. We’ve committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 – known as Pathway to NetZero.
“This means that in 2030 we will have reduced our annual carbon emissions by 33,604 tonnes compared to our baseline emissions when we made our net-zero commitment.”
Mr Wells said increased investment in renewable energy sources would be an essential part of the water corporations carbon journey.
“We’ve also set ourselves the target of shifting to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025. Once achieved our carbon emissions will be reduced by 90 per cent.
“Our hard work is now paying off and we’re on track to achieve this,” he said.
Solar panels have been installed at a number of water treatment plants, including Bendigo, Bridgewater, Leitchville, Pyramid Hill and Wedderburn.
“That is a total of 300 kilowatts – a significant contribution considering five kilowatts is enough to power an average Australian home.”
Plans are in place to install more solar panels this year, to provide a further 530 kilowatts of solar capacity.
This will include Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant and Echuca and Rochester Water Treatment Plants. A further 2.5 megawatts of solar generation capacity are planned, to assist with energy security.
The Pathway to NetZero umbrella includes tree plantations, involvement in the Zero Emissions Water (ZEW) partnership and investigation into future ‘green’ opportunities such as hydroelectricity.
Mr Wells said the ZEW partnership was a collaboration between 12 Victorian water corporations, who are able to access renewable electricity from the largest solar farm in the state at Kiamal.
“We’re exploring all opportunities including switching our staff vehicle fleet to electric.
“Climate resilience is now a key pillar of our corporate strategy and is embedded in everything that we do, in line with our Statement of Obligations for emissions reduction.
“We’re designing carbon out of all future infrastructure design and capital works delivery, while we continue to strengthen our contribution to a circular economy,” he said.
Visit connect.coliban.com.au/netzero for more information.
Last updated on 19 Mar 2024