Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon visits Mon Repos Turtle Centre to announce solar initiative and land acquisition

Mon Repos Turtle Centre is set to go green with the announcement of funding for a new solar set up coming as the State Government settles on a property deal to buy parcel of land near the site.

Heath Jamieson from Next Generation Electrical with Member for Bundaberg Tom Smith and Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon at Mon Repos.

The sleepy seaside suburb of Mon Repos near Bundaberg was buzzing with big announcements on Thursday as environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon revealed several new initiatives for the tourism hot spot.

Ms Scanlon said the Mon Repos Turtle Centre was set to benefit from a $750,000 investment in more than 400 solar panels as well as battery storage.

“We’re delivering these panels and battery storage units across the state to Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service assets to try and reduce the amount of emissions while also reducing the energy costs that these centres have to pay each year,” she said.

“By delivering these solar panels and battery storage we will be able to reduce the bills here by around $20-$30,000 a year so that’s a huge saving on the amount of money that we spend as a department each year as well as well as a huge saving in terms of the emissions that we’re reducing.”

It wasn’t the only announcement for Mon Repos.

Ms Scanlon also revealed that the government had now acquired an additional 42 hectares of land adjacent to the Mon Repos Turtle Centre, with the purchase finalised on Thursday.

Ms Scanlon said increased carparking would be a consideration and while the amount paid for the land was “commercial in confidence”, the government had made sure it got a fair price for the environmental “buffer zone”.

The Minister said it adds to the $22m in investment to develop the facility.

Fourteen jobs will be created by the project, with specialist workers being recruited from Brisbane.

Next Generation Electrical‘s Heath Jamieson said workers would be stationed in the region for around a month, using local hardware supplies and supporting local businesses while here.

Mr Jamieson said the big benefit of being almost entirely powered by solar meant the turtle centre could leave power for others in times of need as it would be able to go “offline”.

“We look forward to not only turning the Mon Repos Turtle Centre green, but also taking the stress off the grid,” he said.

Member for Bundaberg Tom Smith said the project meant the centre, which has more than 30,000 visitors every year, could invest its income back into further improvements rather than power bills.

“People will want to keep coming back time and time and time again,” he said.

Mr Smith said investing in infrastructure was crucial to creating local jobs in fields such as construction and renewable energy, and to supporting the region’s $139 million tourism industry.

“The redevelopment of the Mon Repos Turtle Centre in 2019 saw more than 100 local tradies involved and this project will see another 14 jobs on the cards,” Mr Smith said.

“Better infrastructure and facilities such as the Mon Repos Turtle Centre has flow on effects for our local economy. It’s why we’re investing $42.5 million to upgrade the Isis Highway, putting our money on the table for the Bundaberg East Levee and supporting a renewable energy Mon Repos.”

Mr Smith said it was no surprise Mon Repos is so popular, with state-of-the-art touch screen televisions, vivid displays, an immersive theatre room and interpretative signage.

“The 1.5km section of Mon Repos beach is such an important nursery for loggerhead and green turtles, and during nesting season it’s one of the most popular beaches in Australia.

“Up to 20 turtles a night will come ashore to nest during the peak of the season, and hundreds of tiny hatchlings will emerge from their nests and scurry to the ocean for the very first time.

“The Mon Repos Turtle Centre is a facility all Queenslanders can be proud of, and I’m thrilled that the solar panels will create jobs, save our community money and reduce our environmental impact.”

Minister Scanlon said the project would add to $1.5 million in upgrades of remote area power systems across several national parks throughout Queensland, which provides rangers with efficient, reliable solar systems.

“These systems have already saved 45 tonnes of carbon emissions, and supported upwards of 50 jobs during construction right throughout the state,” Minister Scanlon said.

“Over their lifetime these types of technologies will reduce operating costs by $10 million and ultimately prevent 12,000 tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere.”