Kāpiti Council commended for solar panels and other conservation moves
The Kāpiti Coast Council has won official recognition for its solar array at the Ōtaki Pool (left) and other energy conservation schemes.
It’s been highly commended at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority Awards ceremony in Auckland.
The awards celebrate those who show excellence and innovation in energy efficiency or renewable energy.
Mayor Jenny Rowan says the commendation for Kāpiti , in the Public Sector category, recognises the KCDC’s leadership in sustainability across a range of activities.
She says: “This award shows when it comes to sustainability Council not only talks the talk, we walk the walk.”
Some of the sustainability initiatives mentioned in the Council’s entry include:
- Ōtaki Pool solar thermal array. Council has installed an array of solar thermal panels to help heat the pool and has introduced other energy savings measures on site.
- Wood fired boiler. Council has substantially cut its operational carbon emissions by using a wood-fired boiler for sewage-sludge drying at its waste-water treatment plant.
- Pensioner housing solar and insulation upgrade. Council has upgraded its 118 pensioner houses with roof and floor insulation — and installed 44 solar water heating systems.
- Free compact fluorescent light bulbs. Council used savings from the wood fired boiler to fund the purchase of 49,000 energy saving light bulbs which were distributed to households.
- Ōtaki Library and Memorial Hall Solar PV System. In conjunction with Electra, Council has installed a 2.0kWp grid-tied photovoltaic system on the buildings to publicly demonstrate the technology, which converts the sun’s energy to electricity.
- Monitoring and promotion. Council tracks its energy use and has carried out energy audits on all of its significant facilities. It promotes sustainability through events such as the Greenest Street competition and the annual Sustainable Home and Garden Show, and helps residents with its eco design advisor.
And last year the KCDC won the ‘Local and Central government Stepping Up’ category in the Ministry for the Environment’s Green Ribbon Awards.