She believes this opportunity should be grasped now for the community to enjoy the social and economic benefits of clean, green solar energy.

“The mayors of the Centroc region are all investigating ways to reduce our energy costs and carbon emissions,” Cr Jones said.

“We need to take advantage of sunlight in Wellington as an energy source to achieve this. One thing we have plenty of in Wellington is free sunlight.”

Cr Jones said Centroc and SolarUp Australia are working with the community to make the change to solar energy simple and affordable.

“We need to take this opportunity and make the change sooner rather than later. The Government rebates are being taken advantage of around Australia and we need to get in and get our fair share before the money runs out.”

SolarUp has been trialed in Forbes and the uptake in that community has saved money for ratepayers and carbon emissions for the planet.

“I understand that during summer months, our existing power grid is stretched to its limit. The implementation of solar electricity is sure to reduce the load. As well as this, power costs will increase dramatically and generating our own electricity could really help reduce costs into the future.”

“In addition, energy savings can be channelled directly back into the grid. Solar adoption is now more affordable than ever and it is the ideal way for us to work towards a sustainable future. We need to act now.”

Costs of hot water system

Running a traditional electric hot water system costs between $350 and $550 per annum, while solar electric operating costs is between $100 and $200.

Significant financial savings can be made through the switch to solar energy.

Hot water equates to around 33 per cent of home energy use and converting hot water service to solar can save up to 80 per cent of hot water energy use.

With the rebates of up to $8000 available to eligible households, the end cost for 1KW of installed electricity in our community could be as low as $3999.

For more information about installing solar hot water and electricity in your home, please contact Rachael Young on 0448 264 496.