Lismore City Council will soon begin construction of a new solar shade structure in the Clyde Campbell Carpark funded through a Federal Government grant.
The project features construction of a roof structure with a 99.9kW solar PV system over 40 public carparks in the Clyde Campbell Carpark as well as installation of an electric vehicle car-charging station.
The project will provide much-needed shade for visitors to the CBD and the solar energy generated from the panels will be fed back to electricity grid with revenue funding ongoing maintenance costs.
"The solar shade project for Clyde Campbell Carpark is a great example of local government showing leadership on climate change issues and working towards becoming a sustainable city that embraces renewable energy," Deputy Mayor Neil Marks said.
"Our community has consistently said they want Council to tackle the impacts of climate change, increase the use of renewable energy and provide more shade throughout the Lismore CBD for locals and visitors.
This project delivers on all of that and will also provide an electric car-charging station for Lismore, which is exciting news and I'm sure the first of many to come."
The solar roof is funded through a $1 million grant provided by the Federal Government's Drought Communities Program to 52 NSW councils to complete infrastructure and other drought-relief projects.
In April, Council decided to spend $650,000 of the grant funding on the solar shade structure with the remainder allocated for measures to assist local landholders including training into Natural Sequence Farming, a new technique to retain water in farming landscapes during times of drought.
A tender for the construction of the new solar shade structure will be released in February and construction is expected to begin sometime in April.
Nearby businesses and the community will be advised when construction dates are scheduled.
