Schools Go Solar: St Joseph’s School, Clare
Size of system: 75.44kW
Estimated savings: $22,750 per year
Payback period: 3 years
With the help of Wescombe Electrical, St Joseph's School, Clare, has gone solar. The school has installed 202 panels to provide locally generated, green energy to power the school's state of the art facilities.
St Joseph's School is a Reception to Year 9 co-educational school, proudly located on Ngadjuri land.
The 150 year old historic school was recently approved a $5.95 million expansion by the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools (SACCS) to demonstrate their commitment to improving Catholic education pathways for children and young people in regional South Australia. This expansion was designed to provide students in Clare and surrounding districts an extended pathway to high quality Catholic education in preparation for their transition to senior secondary years.
The purpose-built facilities includes multi-use specialist areas for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Arts and incorporates breakout spaces designed to cater for the specific wellbeing and learning needs of young adolescents.
With plans to commence offering secondary education in 2022 (Year 8) and 2023 (Year 9), the school community anticipated a significant increase in energy consumption and sought support from Wescombe Electrical to consider alternative options and design a solution that matched the school's values and needs.
Wescombe Electrical completed the installation of the 75kW systems in 2022. In addition, a smart energy management program was introduced to monitor and control the integration of renewable energy.
By choosing to install solar, the school is likely to save approximately $22,750 annually in electricity bills and significantly reduce their carbon footprint.
Click here to hear what St Joseph's had to say about their experience with Wescombe Electrical.
'Not only are we saving almost $23,000 per year, but we're providing educational outcomes for the students as they're able to learn about the sustianabiluty of our school and our community.' - Peter Shearer, Principal, St Joseph's School, Clare
