2 Australian Cities Switch To 100% Renewable Energy

• From July 1, 2020, the City of Sydney has completed its switch to renewable energy
• The 100% renewable energy comes from 270 MW Sapphire Wind Farm, 120 MW Bomen Solar Farm and 3 MW Shoalhaven Solar Farm
• Flow Power will be supplying this clean energy to the City of Sydney under an AUD 60 million deal
• City of Adelaide has also switched over to 100% renewable energy under a similar contract with Flow Power, with wind power initially being supplied

The Australian City of Sydney has confirmed being 100% powered by regional wind and solar farms in New South Wales (NSW) with effect from July 1, 2020. Under an AUD 60 million (41.6 million) deal with energy retailer Flow Power, Sydney will run all its streetlights, pools, sports fields, depots, buildings and the historic Sydney Town Hall among others on renewable energy.

In October 2019, Sydney signed what it back then termed as the largest standalone renewables deal for an Australian council for wind and solar power generation from Flow Power for 100% renewable energy supply.

The clean energy will come from the 3 MW Shoalhaven Solar Farm in Nowra, 120 MW Bomen Solar Farm in Wagga Wagga, and 270 MW Sapphire Wind Farm near Inverell. Spark Infrastructure owned Bomen Solar Farm deploys bifacial solar panels. This means, around 3 quarters of the renewable energy sourced by the City of Sydney will be generated by wind power and the rest by solar power.

"The City of Sydney became carbon neutral in 2007, and were the first government in Australia to be certified carbon neutral in 2011. This new deal will see us reach our 2030 target of reducing emissions by 70% by 2024, 6 years early," said Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

With 100% renewable energy, the City of Sydney hopes to save up to half a million dollars over the next 10 years and bring down its CO2 emissions by around 20,000 tons annually. "This is a landmark achievement for the City of Sydney. If organisations can follow in the City's footsteps, a net-zero carbon future is achievable," said Flow Power CEO Matthew van der Linden.

This achievement of Sydney coincided with that of the City of Adelaide in South Australia that's also gone 100% renewable energy powered under partnership with Flow Power from July 1, 2020, which initially will come from wind power, while solar will be added in a few months.