The Whitsunday Climate Change Innovation Hub welcomed tourism operators on its deep dive of the latest renewable energy options available in its Green Electricity Information Session on Tuesday.
Part of The Hub’s Whitsunday Healthy Heart Project (WHHP) workshop series, the session was aimed at supporting the Whitsunday tourism sector and the wider community by showing them the options available for reducing their carbon emissions and improving sustainability.
Partnering with the Coral Sea Academy, The Hub brought together speakers from Ergon Energy, Green Energy Technologies, and Edify Energy.
The Green Electricity Information Session was hosted at The Lookout Lounge, Coral Sea Marina.
Lee Hawkins, Climate Change Resilience Officer at The Hub said around “50 per cent of the municipal or human sourced carbon emissions in the Whitsunday region comes from electricity consumption.”
“At this information session, the Whitsunday community learned more about how they can explore ways to reduce their direct emissions,” Ms Hawkins said.
Presenters at the event covered the gamut of climate change topics relevant to Whitsunday Business Owners and how they could change their approach.
It included optimising energy ratings for property portfolios, case studies on successful renewable energy installations, how to buy green electricity through the grid, and Power Purchase Agreements with local solar farms.
The talks of carbon emission reduction came at an incredibly salient time for the region as a Unesco Delegation oversees the Great Barrier Reef’s health ahead of a major decision which is due to be announced in July.
The Hub agreed that the Whitsunday Islands are one of three key locations with current projects underway as part of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s Reef Islands Initiative, which is working to restore critical island habitats to protect ecosystems and save vulnerable species.
The initiative is a 10-year program supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government, and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation.
Climate Innovation Hub’s Olivia Brodhurst, Lee Hawkins, Edify Energy representative Manas Choudhury, Kon Flaherty from Green Energy Technologies Whitsunday, and Damien Krauklis from Edify Energy
Whitsunday Councillor Al Grundy attended, as well as Tony Fontes, Whitsunday Conservation Council Spokesperson
