LED Street Light Project Makes the Finals of National Climate Awards

Published on 29 October 2021

Snowy Valleys Council is a finalist in the Cities Power Partnership’s fourth annual national Climate Awards, which recognises the work of local governments paving the way to a zero-carbon future.

Council’s Streetlight LED Replacement Program is an Energy Efficiency Achievement Award finalist.

CEO Matthew Hyde said he was delighted to hear of the award finalist announcement.

“The LED replacement program is another positive step in Council’s commitment to creating a more sustainable and energy efficient environment and we are proud to be recognised as a finalist in these national awards,” Mr Hyde said.

Council invested in the replacement of 1,405 streetlights throughout the region with energy efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as part of its Streetlight LED Replacement Program.  The LED technology reduces the energy used by streetlights by more than 50% and will save Council and the community more than $105,000 annually in electricity costs.

Finalists for the Climate Awards were selected from entries submitted by diverse communities from small rural townships through to capital cities, in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, community engagement, ambition, collaboration and innovation.

Dr Portia Odell, Director of the Cities Power Partnership, congratulated Snowy Valleys Council for making the final shortlist for the awards, saying this year’s entries reflect a new level of climate action and ambition amongst local governments.

“From councils collaborating to purchase 100 percent renewable energy in the largest emissions reduction project ever undertaken by Australian local governments, to shifting entire council fleets to zero emissions vehicles, our finalists are leading the way with local climate solutions,” she said.

“These local champions are stepping up to the climate challenge in the face of continuing Federal climate inaction. It’s time to celebrate the climate heroes in local government, who are helping their communities to drive down greenhouse gas emissions and creating a prosperous future.”

The winners will be announced at the virtual awards ceremony hosted by the ABC’s Craig Reucassel at 4:00pm AEDT on Wednesday 17 November.

-ENDS-

FULL LIST OF 2021 FINALISTS

• ●Renewable Energy Achievement Award
  • ○Tweed Shire Council, NSW -Renewable Energy Action Plan: from targets to action
  • ○Northern Beaches Council, NSW - Northern Beaches Goes Renewable
  • ○City of Canterbury Bankstown, NSW - CBCity Solar Plus Batteries Pilot
  • ○Blacktown City, NSW - Rooftop Solar Power Purchase Agreement
    
    
• ●Energy Efficiency Achievement Award
  • ○City of Stonnington, VIC - Spotlight on Chapel Off Chapel
  • ○Georges River Council, NSW - Working towards net zero emissions
  • ○Northern Beaches Council, NSW -Energy Audit and Implementation
  • ○Snowy Valleys Council, NSW - Change out of Street Lights to LEDs
    
    
• ●Sustainable Transport Achievement Award
  • ○Moreland City Council, VIC - Open Streets
  • ○ACT Government, ACT - Zero Emissions Fleet Transition
  • ○Wollongong City Council, NSW - Rolling Out Our Cycling Strategy
    
    

• ●Community Engagement Achievement Award
  • ○Cairns Regional Council, QLD - Engaging on Climate Change
  • ○City of Adelaide, SA - Sustainability Incentives Scheme Enabling Community Emissions Outcomes
  • ○Wollongong City Council, NSW - Creating a Healthy and Sustainable Wollongong: The Sustainable Wollongong 2030 Strategy
    
    

• ●Innovation Award
  • ○Greater Dandenong City Council, VIC - Net zero emissions in Council infrastructure and assets bids
  • ○Lake Macquarie City Council, NSW - Low Carbon Energy Ecosystem for Council
  • ○Georges River Council, NSW - ChillOUT Hubs
    
    

• ●Ambition Award
  • ○Ku-ring-gai Council, NSW - Towards Zero Emissions - 2030 Action Plan
  • ○Mornington Peninsula Shire, VIC - Climate Emergency Plan “Ensuring our Future”
  • ○Randwick City Council, NSW - Preparing and Implementing Randwick's new Environment Strategy
  • ○Monash Council, VIC - Zero Net Carbon for Monash
    
    
• ●Collaboration Award
  • ○Borough of Queenscliffe, VIC - Community-Led Climate Emergency Response Plan Partnerships
  • ○Darebin City Council, VIC - Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO)
  • ○Warrnambool City Council, VIC - Climate Alliance Establishment Project
    
    
• ●Climate Ambassador Award (elected representative)
  • ○Shoalhaven City Council, NSW - Mayor Amanda Findley
  • ○Town of Bassendean, WA - Mayor Renée McLennan
  • ○Logan City Council, QLD - Mayor Darren Power
    
    

• ●Climate Champion Award (council staff)
  • ○Cairns Regional Council Sustainability Team, QLD
  • ○Hunter Joint Organisation, NSW
  • ○Sam Kelley, Randwick City Council’s Sustainability Projects and Reporting Officer, NSW

About the Cities Power Partnership

The Cities Power Partnership is a free national program created by the Climate Council that celebrates and accelerates the emission reduction and clean energy successes of Australia in towns and cities.

Website: Cities Power Partnership  Twitter: @CPP_Au

ABOUT THE AWARDS

The Cities Power Partnership awards recognise councils demonstrating climate mitigation action across the listed 37 action pledge items under the Cities Power Partnership. Each of the 9 categories were judged to ensure their respective criteria were met.

Judges

• ●Damon Gameau, Film director, author and presenter
• ●Dr Amanda Cahill, CEO, Next Economy
• ●Dr Simon Bradshaw, Head of Research, Climate Council
• ●Pam Townshend, Former Shire President, Augusta Margaret River, Western Australia