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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-28 Daily Xml
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SOLAR SCHOOLS PROGRAM

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:34): My question is directed to the Minister for Education. Will the minister provide the house with a report on the progress and objectives of the solar schools program?

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH (Adelaide—Minister for Education, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:34): As the honourable member knows, this government has taken a very strong stand in terms of sustainability and making sure that we have on our agenda climate change measures which are linked not only to industry but also to actual action that government can take in a range of areas. As the community is moving towards—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The house will come to order. The minister has the call.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: Thank you. As community pressure grows, it is very pleasing to find that our government is ahead of the wave of reform in terms of sustainability and has moved not only to introduce renewable sources of energy within our schools but also to use those renewable sources as a way of teaching young people about not only energy and sustainability but also a range of other elements of our curriculum. The Rann government has encouraged solar schools to incorporate sustainability across the curriculum so that it is used to teach mathematics and physics, also about the environment as well as in a range of areas in science and technology. Further to that, students in schools have been instrumental in promoting alternative energy use within the community and to their parents.

Since 2003, the government has been well on its way to achieving its goal of solar powering 250 schools, and these now equate to 131 schools that are equipped with solar panels. These schools and preschools eventually will generate a total of 750 megawatt hours per year of electricity. That will equate to 720 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions that have been reduced. That is the equivalent—if you go for equivalents and comparisons—of 240 large six-cylinder cars each travelling 13,000 kilometres per year. Whilst no two schools are identical, it is expected that each system will generate around 3,000 kilowatt hours per year. This will generate about 2 per cent of the energy consumption by solar power used by a typical primary school. Of course, any surplus generated out of school hours, during weekends or in the summer holidays will be fed back into the grid—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley will come to order.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: —and the money paid back into the school accounts for that energy. The program is one of several initiatives to support schools and preschools to improve their energy efficiency. Other major initiatives include, of course, our green school grants.

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond will come to order.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is warned.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: From this year, any schools undergoing capital works will also be equipped with solar panels. Whilst the Rann government has been instrumental with initiatives such as the building tune-up program and the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act, it can be argued that the most significant contribution that we can make to our environment is actually through our schools and education. Not only have we invested millions of dollars in making our schools more environmentally sustainable but we also believe that, as places of learning, schools will be educating our future leaders about opportunities in sustainability and the options and the ease with which renewable energy can be used within our schools. That message will be one that will be spread through the community and taken into our children's homes.

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