Townsville/Magnetic Island

Amy and I met Ian at the Magnetic Island Ferry terminal. The crossing is just about 8k and takes only 20 or so minutes. It was much smoother than the ride out the Great Barrier Reef. The first stop was the Ergon Energy Solar Lifestyle Center. This is the headquarters for Ergon Energy’s Solar City. It is not only the office but also a Demonstration Center. The Center has three Solar Panel systems on the roof and it uses solar energy to run refrigerators, air conditioning and hot water heating. At its core, the Solar City project is not about Solar Energy. The Solar panels actually give very little benefit to the customers as the energy that is generated flows directly into the grid and the size of the systems only provide a small amount of energy to the grid (about 1.3kw at its peak). However what the solar panels allow Ergon to do is to have a conversation with their customers about energy efficiency. The Solar City program begins with an energy assessment. (It is called an assessment rather than an audit because it is a friendlier word) The Assessment is based upon the Government’s star rating on a scale of five (the average Australian home rates about a 2.5). Once the original assessment is made, the Ergon energy team will replace all incandescent light bulbs with CFL’s, will replace high flow shower heads with low flow shower heads, will offer to remove inefficient appliances, give credits towards new appliances, and will show homeowners how to take advantage of off-peak tariffs. Only after all of this is done, is the customer asked if they would like solar panels on the roof. In addition to the solar panels, the homeowner receives a IHD (In Home Display) which shows on a real time basis, the energy that is used in the home. The readout is accompanied by a colored row of lights that change from green to light green to orange to red, depending on the amount of electricity used. The IHD keeps track not only of kilowatt hours used, but also the amount of greenhouse gas emitted to generate that electricity. The IHD also maintains 7 day and 28 Day historical data. This is a very simple device, but is very effective at communicating the energy usage of the home. The Solar Lifestyle Center also hands out booklets and other materials which reinforce the messages of energy efficiency. It asks that the homes display a sticker declaring themselves a solar household as well as a refrigerator magnet that the homeowner writes on describing what steps they will take to be more efficient and then signing it. It creates an informal action contract between Ergon and the household to continue energy efficiency measures.
We then toured around the island looking at some of the solar panels that have been installed. They are very unobtrusive and on some homes can hardly be seen from street level.
Amy and I took the ferry back to the Townsville and now we are headed for the final part of the trip: Sydney.

P.S. I'm sorry, but I can't recommend the Holiday Inn Townsville...at least until after the renovations.