Ryde Council lowers carbon footprint by 10 per cent in

Lighting upgrades as well as the largest solar harvesting power station in the area have led to a fall in Ryde Council’s carbon footprint, new figures show.

There have been lighting upgrades at Ryde Aquatic Centre.

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LIGHTING upgrades have led to a fall in Ryde Council’s carbon footprint, new figures show.

According to the City of Ryde’s Annual Environment Update for 2017/18, council’s greenhouse gas emissions were 10 per cent lower than the previous 12-month period.

Ryde Mayor Jerome Laxale put the improved CO2 result down to upgrades that included the installation of energy-efficient LEDs at Ryde Aquatic and Leisure Centre (RALC) and Peel Park.

City of Ryde has completed the installation of a new solar power system at Eastwood Hall, while a solar harvesting system has also been introduced at North Ryde Library.

“While politicians at a federal level continue to drag their heels on tackling climate change, I am delighted to report that the City of Ryde is continuing to work hard to reduce its carbon emissions, and the latest figures show that this hard work is paying off,” Cr Laxale said.

“And I am pleased to confirm that we are not stopping here, with council rolling out several new initiatives — particularly around renewables — that should reduce our greenhouse gas emissions even further.”

In July, the City of Ryde completed the installation of a new solar power system at Eastwood Hall, which will offset an estimated quarter of the building’s annual consumption, while a solar harvesting system has also been introduced at North Ryde Library.

In addition, the largest solar harvesting power station in the area has recently been installed at the RALC.

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This project has seen the installation of 826 solar panels on the RALC’s roof, which will generate more than 300 kilowatts and save close to 66 equivalent tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

“Aside from our reduction in emissions, Ryde has also become one of the first local government authorities in Australia to divest its term portfolio from fossil fuel-aligned financial institutions,” Cr Laxale said.

“This has been done with no impact on the City of Ryde’s financial position. We are also phasing out single-use plastics and joined the Cities Power Partnership, which is Australia’s largest network of local councils tackling climate action.”