Sixteen schools across the North West and New England will share over $482,000 in a new funding round of a national solar schools program designed to boost their energy efficiency.
SIXTEEN schools across the North West and New England will share over $482,000 in a new funding round of a national solar schools program designed to boost their energy efficiency.
New England MP Tony Windsor says 13 schools in his electorate will share $386,000 in the latest round of the National Solar Schools Program announced by the parliamentary secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus.
Mr Windsor said the program had been set up to encourage schools to generate their electricity from renewable sources, improve their energy efficiency and reduce their energy consumption, adapt to climate change by making use of rainwater collected from school roofs, as well as providing educational benefits for students and their communities.
“I congratulate the successful schools on making application to the National Solar Schools Program,” Mr Windsor said.
“Not only will the addition of solar panels at the schools help reduce costs to the schools but they will also be a highly visible example to the children, their families and the broader community of renewable energy sources that will hopefully encourage others to look at their energy sources and how they can reduce their own carbon footprint.
“Schools do a great job in educating our kids about our environment and in turn, many kids educate their parents.
“Solar energy and other forms of renewable clean energy reduce our dependence on fossil fuels so they make sense both from an environmental and economic point of view.”
