A BID to put solar panels on the roof of AELEC has been scuttled once again by Tamworth Regional Council.
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At its final meeting of the year, councillors called further research now into the viability of a solar array installed on the ground at the equine centre.
Councillor Russell Webb and deputy mayor Phil Betts railed against the original proposal to proceed with fixing solar panels to the distinctive roof of the AELEC building.
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Cr Webb said the initial proposal was "ridiculous" and "not affordable" and installing an array on the ground made more sense.
Cr Betts said going with the roof option would not "demonstrate environmental leadership" and went on to claim it pose "worksafe" issues for people who would be needed to clean the panels on the curved roof.
Glenn Inglis said the mooted 10.2 year payback period was too long and "almost double" the average period which he claimed was 5.4 years.
He also said there was probably going to be a "change in the renewable public policy in about four months time".
Helen Tickle questioned the motivation behind scuttling the solar scheme and said Tamworth Regional Council needed to make up for lost time.
“We all certainly support renewable energy we have approved a number of sites that will be solar powered,” Cr Tickle said.
She didn’t agree council had been a leader in the renewable energy sphere, but it had “progressed well”.
“We’ve made huge inroads with water and waste, I think we’ve been a leader in water and waste for number of years,” she said.
While council has approved a number of renewable projects in the past, Cr Tickle said it was the community who were showing an example to other levels of government.
“We lead by example, but very often it’s the community that takes the lead,” she said.
“There’s one-in-six residences that have solar power, they are taking a lead in this.”
The equine centre solar installation would cost $74,875 and report by council’s sustainability officer, Tim Hurcum, estimated it would save council $7,375 a year on power bills.
In the last financial year, Tamworth Regional Council paid $156,990 to power the equine centre.