Andrew Leigh

NORTH CANBERRA SCHOOLS GO GREEN

15 December 2010

14 Schools from the Fraser Electorate have received grants from the Federal Government to become more energy efficient. Each successful school will receive $50,000 to help install a range of green technologies including solar panels and other renewable power systems and rainwater tanks.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, and the Parliamentary Secretary Mark Dreyfus, announced the grants as part of an announcement today which saw 1,226 schools from across the country receive  $51 million from the Australian Government’s $420 million National Solar Schools Program.

Federal Member for Fraser, Andrew Leigh, congratulated the schools on taking positive steps to deal with climate change.                                                            

“Our schools have realised the threat which climate change presents and are looking at the green steps they can take,” said Dr Leigh. 

“Canberra schools have already started doing some great things. We have schools with solar panels that not only provide green energy for the school but allow students to learn about energy use by having smart meters that allow real time monitoring of energy consumption across the school. 

“The National Solar Schools Program will give an opportunity to these 14 schools to become more sustainable as well as have students learn about energy use and the renewable energy sector firsthand. 

“We’re helping schools become energy efficient while also skilling our students for the world of tomorrow,” concluded Dr Leigh. 

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, said more than 2,600 schools across the nation had already been funded under the  National Solar Schools Program and more than 93 per cent of those projects included solar power systems. 

“This equates to approximately 11 megawatts of solar power – the equivalent of meeting the electricity needs of around 2,400 average households each day,” Mr Combet said. 

Applications were assessed using merit-based criteria, meaning schools had to demonstrate value for money, as well as environmental and educational benefits. Applicants who were not successful in this round will be eligible to re-apply in future rounds. 

Further information about the National Solar Schools Program including a list of all successful grant recipients is available on the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency website: www.climatechange.gov.au

Appendix 

List of grant recipients

Lake Ginninderra College

Campbell Primary School

Evatt Primary School

Kaleen Primary School

Lyneham High School

Macquarie Primary School

Canberra High School

Black Mountain School

Turner School

Majura Primary

Good Shepherd Primary School

St Thomas More's Primary School

Blue Gum Community School

Rosary Primary School

01 December 2010 Bamaga, Qld - Northern Peninsula Area regional council Mayor Joseph Elu address the parliamentary committee inquiry into the Wild Rivers legislation - Photo: Cameron Laird (Ph: +61 418 238811)

Some photographs from the House Economics Committee's Wild Rivers hearings in Cape York (courtesy of Cameron Laird).

01 December 2010 Bamaga, Qld - Leslie Footscray, 32 fishes for mackeral from the Seasia jetty near Bamaga, Cape York, QLD - Photo: Cameron Laird (Ph: +61 418 238811)

01 December 2010 Bamaga, Qld - Parliamentary committee inquiry into the Wild Rivers legislation - Photo: Cameron Laird (Ph: +61 418 238811)

30 November 2010 Weipa, Qld - Wild Rivers economic impact hearings - Photo: Cameron Laird (Ph: +61 418 238811)

A video update from my Gungahlin mobile office last Saturday. The final two mobile offices for 2011 will be on Saturday 18 December:

• 10-11am Dickson Woolies


• 11:30-12:30 Garema Place

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On ABC Radio National's Life Matters program, I spoke this morning with Richard Aedy about community life, neighbours and street parties, focusing on the findings of my book Disconnected. You can listen to the program here.

A few of my favourite pieces from around the Net:

• Stiglitz on the US economy


• Intergenerational mobility in New Zealand


• Per Capita's memo to the PM


• The Grattan Institute's summer reading list for the PM (though #4 is an odd choice)


• Do tax rates affect where top soccer players live? (hint: yes)


• Using statistics to understand Victorian literature


• Measuring teacher effectiveness (and another piece assessing how well students can pick great teachers)


• Glenn Stevens on the terms of trade


• Philip Clarke and Paul Frijters on bottom-up university funding