Barwon Water, the largest regional urban water corporation in Victoria serving the Geelong and Colac areas announced that it has fully transitioned to 100% renewable energy.
Barwon Water: Providing Water Services to 320,000+ Residents
Barwon Water provides essential water services to over 320,000 residents across the Bellarine Peninsula, Colac-Otway Shire, and surrounding regions.
Barwon Water serves over 320,000 permanent residents and up to 545,000 people during peak holiday times. Its service area covers the City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliffe, Surf Coast Shire, Colac-Otway Shire and part of the Golden Plains Shire. This includes the Bellarine Peninsula extending north to Ballan and west to Colac, Lorne and Apollo Bay.
Barwon Water's Renewable Energy Initiatives and Achievements
Barwon Water’s water and sewerage facilities use over 30 GWh of electricity annually which is comparable to the electricity consumption of 6,000 households. Since setting a 100% renewables goal in 2016 and aligning with the Victorian water sector's objective to use entirely renewable energy by 2025, Barwon Water has developed a range of renewable energy projects. It now generates about 65 GWh of electricity annually from roughly 25 MW of renewable capacity.
Notable projects include the 3 MW Black Rock solar farm, Australia's first megawatt-scale solar installation in the water industry. Smaller projects include the 300 kW Wurdee Boluc solar and battery array which meets about 40% of the water treatment plant's annual electricity needs; the 240 kW Torquay solar array adjacent to the Torquay water storage facility; and the 80 kW Kadak depot solar array in Breakwater.
Additionally, the Colac Renewable Organics Network (RON) is a significant project that transforms organic waste from the Australian Lamb Company and Bulla Dairy Foods into renewable electricity and heat. This ensures that the local water reclamation plant operates entirely on renewable energy.
Barwon Water's Commitment to Renewable Energy
Barwon Water has formed strategic partnerships with local and other water organizations to acquire additional renewable electricity. This includes purchasing 17 MW from the Mt Gellibrand Wind Farm via the Barwon Renewable Energy Partnership and electricity from the Kiamal Solar Farm. With Barwon Water now producing more electricity than needed for its facilities, it can export the surplus back to the grid, thereby creating an additional revenue stream.
“We’re proud to achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity. It has been made possible through collaboration with our regional stakeholders and water sector peers and the support of our customers. This milestone reflects our commitment to a healthier environment and providing essential water and wastewater services in the most sustainable way possible. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, these investments are also reducing energy costs, putting downward pressure on customer bills and generating revenue from surplus electricity.” said Shaun Cumming, managing director of Barwon Water.
Barwon Water will now focus on reaching its goal of achieving net-zero emissions across its operations by 2030.
“We are strongly focused on our 2030 target of achieving net-zero emissions across our operations and doing it in a way that reduces energy costs. This includes tackling direct emissions from wastewater treatment processes and transitioning to a zero-emissions vehicle fleet,” said Cumming.