Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips has celebrated along with the community, the completion of the Brightening Batemans Bay Heritage Museum's Future Stage 1 project.
This project involved the installation of a 14.94kW PV solar system and a catch power diverter to provide affordable and reliable energy to the Batemans Bay Heritage Museum.
Southcoast Health and Sustainability Alliance (SHASA) received $22,578 in federal funding to support the project through the Strengthening Rural Communities Prepare and Recovery Grant. Importantly this initiative was also supported by additional investments of $650 each from the Heritage Museum and SHASA.
"This is a momentous occasion for the Batemans Bay Heritage Museum and the wider community. The solar system will not only reduce the museum's ongoing running costs but will also increase the museum’s access to renewable energy," Fiona said.
The Batemans Bay Heritage Museum is a community organisation entirely managed by volunteers. Recently the museum has been facing the challenge of rising electricity costs and increased energy consumption required for maintaining its extensive collection of artefacts and photos of the local and social history.
“The Batemans Bay Heritage Museum is an important cultural touchpoint in our region, and with the installation of this new solar system the museum will be able to operate more efficiently – saving money and being more environmentally friendly,” Fiona continued.
“I’d like to thank SHASA, the Heritage Museum volunteers and Micro Energy Systems for all their work on this project,” Fiona concluded.
The newly installed solar system has already proven to be highly effective for the museum's operations with the new power arrangement significantly reducing the museums reliance on conventional energy sources.
Located in the historic former courthouse building, the Batemans Bay Heritage Museum offers travelling exhibitions from major institutions and displays collections from local community groups.
