Lismore City Council, Media Release, 8 September 2021
Lismore will soon get its first Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station in the heart of the CBD.
Lismore City Council recently accepted a tender to design and construct a $600,000 ‘Solar Carpark’ in the Council-owned Clyde Campbell carpark. The infrastructure includes the installation an architectural ‘butterfly-shaped’ awning, clad with photo-voltaic solar panels and covering 40 carparks. It also includes the installation of two EV fast chargers, making them Lismore’s first.
Lismore Mayor Vanessa Ekins said the project will provide much-needed shade for visitors to the CBD, with excess solar energy fed back into the electricity grid.
“The solar shade project at the Clyde Campbell Carpark is a great example of local government showing leadership on climate change issues and working towards becoming a sustainable city that embraces renewable energy,” she said.
“Our community has consistently said they want Council to tackle the impacts of climate change, increase the use of renewable energy and provide more shade throughout the Lismore CBD for locals and visitors. This project delivers on all of that and will also provide an electric car-charging station for Lismore, which is exciting news and I’m sure the first of many to come.”
The solar roof is funded through a $1 million grant provided by the Federal Government’s Drought Communities Program to 52 NSW councils to complete infrastructure and other drought-relief projects.
The sustainable design and shape of the roof is inspired by the native Richmond Birdwing Butterfly. The Birdwing Butterfly vine – the butterfly’s food source – will grow on the shade structure from hanging planter boxes.
The height of the structure means it will not be impacted by flood events. Lismore City Council has a long history of developing innovative solar projects to reduce emissions and mitigate against climate change.
In 2018, Council and Farming the Sun launched the Lismore Community Solar initiative – the first Council/community owned solar farm in the country including Australia’s largest floating solar farm.
As part of the Lismore Community Solar initiative, Council established two 100kW solar farms – a rooftop solar farm at Goonellabah Sports & Aquatic Centre and a floating solar farm on the overflow ponds at the East Lismore Sewage Treatment Plant.
Work on the Solar Carpark is expected to start in late November and be completed early in the new year.
