Green lights for Hume

Published on 19 June 2020

Hume City Council is well on the way to sourcing 100 per cent of its electricity needs from renewable energy.

Council buildings and street lights will transition to renewable sources of electricity by 1 July 2021, avoiding more than 17,500 tonnes (carbon dioxide equivalent) of greenhouse gas emissions.

Mayor of Hume City, Councillor Carly Moore said Council is proud to be making Hume more sustainable.

“This is an important move as part of our commitment to climate change action and reduction of greenhouse gases within our operations,” Cr Moore said.

“Under new electricity supply agreements, smaller Council buildings and street lights will switch to 100 per cent GreenPower-accredited renewable energy on 1 July 2020, while larger buildings including our leisure centres and Hume Global Learning Centres will switch on 1 July 2021.

“Avoiding emissions through the purchase of renewable energy is a significant environmental contribution, equivalent to removing 4,375 average Australian cars from the road.”

The largest of these agreements is a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement with Alinta Energy.

“Entering into a long-term agreement gives Council a secure supply of more affordable electricity from Victorian renewable energy generation and supports Victoria’s growing renewable energy industry,” Cr Moore said.

GreenPower is a government managed scheme that enables Australian households and businesses to displace their electricity usage with certified renewable energy, which is added to the grid on their behalf.

Hume residents and businesses can switch to renewable energy by choosing to buy GreenPower, available through most electricity retailers.