It’s Thursday, July 2, and the City of Sydney is running on 100 percent renewable energy.
The government of the City of Sydney, the central borough of the larger metropolis of Sydney, Australia, is now running on all renewable energy. All of the area’s pools, sports fields, street lights, and official buildings, including Sydney Town Hall, are now powered by renewably sourced electricity.
The plan to switch entirely over to clean energy was first announced in March 2019. The City is sourcing its energy from one nearby wind farm and two nearby solar farms after a $41.5 million deal with electricity retailer Flow Power. It is the biggest green energy deal in Australian history.
The City predicts that the energy deal will save it up almost $350,000 a year over the next 10 years. The City has also projected that the deal will reduce carbon emissions by about 20,000 metric tons a year, which is the equivalent of the emissions associated with about 6,000 households.
In 2008, the City of Sydney pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 70 percent by the year 2030. But thanks to the new green energy deal, now the borough will reach that goal by 2024.
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