NSW's CASAR Park gains pole position for EV racing, off the grid
RenewEconomy
CASAR Park, a motorsport precinct planned for the Central Coast of NSW, says is on-track to become the world’s first off-grid motorsport complex.
Co-founder and CEO Brad Wilson has engaged with standalone power provider Off-Grid Energy Australia to provide the infrastructure that will enable the entire motorsport complex to run independent of mains power.
“As a community-based Social Enterprise we are constantly looking for opportunities to address both environmental and economic sustainability,” he said in a statement.
“Although the initial cost of setting up the power infrastructure may exceed that of connecting to mains electricity, the payback period is less than 4 years which is a great outcome. Further to that, the opportunity to offset the greenhouse emissions associated with our motorsport activities adds a further dimension to the benefits that we will enjoy.” says Mr. Wilson.
CASAR Park plans to pioneer EV racing in Australia. The world’s first high-performance EV race (Formula E) was held in September last year in Beijing and a recent Formula E race in Miami attracted thousands of fans and high profile sponsors including Richard Branson and Leonardo DiCaprio.
“CASAR Park is an exciting project for the Wyong Shire community. It will be a great attraction for year round tourism as well as providing jobs and training opportunities for our local youth,” Wyong Shire Mayor Eaton said.
Stage 1 of CASAR Park will include completion of the main racing circuit, pits and associated amenities, plus a driver training facility including a skid-pan and go-kart track.
Future stages will see further improvements to the race facilities and complimentary facilities such as parklands, playgrounds, outdoor recreation activities and a Chocolate Factory tourist attraction. Completion of the Stage 1 micro-grid – including over 700 solar modules and half a megawatt of storage – is expected in the second half of 2016.
This article was first published at RenewEconomy.
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Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
