Victorian college signs wind and solar PPA, in bid to go 100% renewable

It’s not quite the Sydney Opera House, but the Presbyterian Ladies’ College in Victoria has become the latest business to sign up with corporate energy retailer Flow Power, and to commit to sourcing 100 per cent renewable electricity.

The private school in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Burwood, said it had signed on to a Corporate Renewable Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Flow to source its power from as yet unnamed wind and solar farms.

According to the College, the PPA and rooftop PV – a 593kW on-campus system to be installed by Gippsland Solar – will supply the school with around 130 per cent of its energy requirements from solar and wind, and will do so by 2020.

Like other educational facilities before it, PLC will also use live energy readings and data to help its students better understand the College’s energy consumption – including how much of the solar generated on-site is shared with the grid.

“PLC has a long history of leadership and innovation and this project will help inspire and encourage our girls to continue to seek more sustainable solutions for future generations,” PLC Principal Dawn Clements said.

“We are very excited about the project and we look forward to doing our part in achieving a low emissions future.”

PLC School Captain Imashi Iddawela said students at the College saw climate change as a major issue, and were thrilled to bear witness to its shift to renewables.

“The real-time data will help us to better understand where our energy is coming from and how much we’re using. It will also help us adopt more energy efficient practises,” Imashi said.

For Melbourne-based Flow Power, PLC is the latest addition to a rapidly growing list of businesses choosing to source renewable electricity via the company’s wind and solar portfolio.

That portfolio is made up of contracts to buy shares in the output of various large-scale renewables projects, including the Ararat Wind Farm in Victoria, the Sapphire Wind Farm in norther New South Wales, the Bomen Solar Farm – also in NSW, and the Lakeland Wind Farm in north Queensland.

As noted above, a recent high-profile addition to Flow’s list of corporate customers was Sydney Opera House, which signed up to long-term contracts through Flow Power – for seven years, with options to extend – as part of its own effort to go 100 per cent renewable.

“PLC is showing real leadership in the renewable energy space. Schools are in a great position to take advantage of renewable power from both economic and teaching perspectives, and our partnership with PLC will showcase all that is possible,” said Flow CEO Matthew van der Linden.