A suburban school that got its pupils involved in saving energy by turning off lights and closing doors and windows has won an energy conservation award.
A Pilbara high school that saved nearly 50 per cent on its electricity consumption by managing its air-conditioning more carefully also won an inaugural State Government Energy Conservation Award.
Another of the winners, announced today by Fuel and Energy Minister Geoff Gallop, was a metropolitan local council which adopted an integrated approach to energy management, including installing an energy management system to monitor and control electricity consumption.
Dr Gallop said all State Government agencies and local authorities were eligible to enter for the award, which were judged on value for money and their potential for wider application.
Winners were:
· $10,000 to Melville City Council for its energy management policies;
· $5,000 to Wickham District High School for reducing electricity consumption by its air-conditioning system and raising awareness of energy conservation and recycling issues;
· $5,000 to Glengarry Primary School, for involving the whole school, including the parents, in reducing energy use;
· $20,000 to the Ministry of Education, for energy management work at schools in the North-West. Most of the school achieved savings of more than 10 per cent, many more than 20 per cent; and
· a perpetual trophy to the Water Authority of WA for developing a desalination plant at Denham, Shark Bay, powered by wind, and reducing the cost of desalinated water by 70 per cent.
The prize money must be spent on energy conservation projects or activities, and the trophy is made from recyclable materials.
"The awards were open to State and local government agencies to demonstrate that government should lead by example in saving energy," Dr Gallop said.
The awards are sponsored by the Renewable Energy Advisory Council and the Energy Conservation Unit of the Energy Policy and Planning Bureau.
Dr Gallop also launched a booklet which shows, through examples in the public sector, how energy savings are achievable.
"The booklet explains how Perth's Superdrome expects to reduce its annual energy costs by nearly $500,000, or 35 per cent, through a combination of energy management and using landfill gas from the nearby Brockway tip to provide heat for its swimming pools and for space heating," he said.
"The booklet also contains details of a solar-powered transportable classroom, among other projects."
The booklet is available from the Energy Policy and Planning Bureau, Floor 10, 214 St Georges Terrace, Perth 6000.
