The federal government of Australia has established the Australian Government's National Solar Schools Program (NSSP) to assist schools across the country to reduce their environmental impact by installing solar PV panels and solar hot water together with other sustainability measures.
The program will grant eligible schools up to $50,000 to fund the installation of solar PV panels, solar hot water systems, rain water tanks, and other energy efficient equipment. Schools who have applied before September 30th of this year will be qualified for the 2011-2012 financial year, and those who missed the application deadline can still apply for the 2012-2013 round early next year.
The program aims to deliver three major goals; reducing energy bills and saving schools money, reducing the schools environmental impacts, and to teach our children how to value the environment and how renewable energy will be a key factor in their future.
Since the commencement of the program in 2007 more than 7000 schools have registered for the program (nearly 2000 applications for 2010-2011round alone) and about 2000 schools have their new system fully installed and functional. A total of $128 million dollarshas been spent as of April 2011 for program, which will continue until June 2013.
Some major universities in the country have also installed solar PV panel systems to achieve the same goal, the Monash University in Victoria has installed a 112KWh system capable of powering 25 average sized rooms in the Clayton campus with a computer controlled monitoring system to record generated electricity from the system.
Also the Murdoch University in Western Australia has installed a 26KW system in the campus' library to reduce their carbon emissions and for research purposes as well. The University will conducting research on amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon solar panels and will soon open a new chapter in quantum dots and nano technology applications.
Just recently the University of Queensland unveiled the largest flat panel solar panel system in the country; the 1.75 MW array will reduce the University's carbon emission by 1770 tons per year. Mainly the project will be used to further research and development of solar technology, and the collected data from the system will serve as the framework of the study.
Several Universities have also made groundbreaking research and discoveries in the solar field. The University of NSW has recently found a way to increase solar panel efficiency up to 19.3% while still keeping production cost at a record low.
This proves that cost effective solar power can be integrated with all aspects of our community, serving its primary purpose of saving money and reducing greenhouse gases while allowing research and development to take place that will continue to reduce the cost of renewable energy technology.
The program will grant eligible schools up to $50,000 to fund the installation of solar PV panels, solar hot water systems, rain water tanks, and other energy efficient equipment. Schools who have applied before September 30th of this year will be qualified for the 2011-2012 financial year, and those who missed the application deadline can still apply for the 2012-2013 round early next year.
The program aims to deliver three major goals; reducing energy bills and saving schools money, reducing the schools environmental impacts, and to teach our children how to value the environment and how renewable energy will be a key factor in their future.
Since the commencement of the program in 2007 more than 7000 schools have registered for the program (nearly 2000 applications for 2010-2011round alone) and about 2000 schools have their new system fully installed and functional. A total of $128 million dollarshas been spent as of April 2011 for program, which will continue until June 2013.
Some major universities in the country have also installed solar PV panel systems to achieve the same goal, the Monash University in Victoria has installed a 112KWh system capable of powering 25 average sized rooms in the Clayton campus with a computer controlled monitoring system to record generated electricity from the system.
Also the Murdoch University in Western Australia has installed a 26KW system in the campus' library to reduce their carbon emissions and for research purposes as well. The University will conducting research on amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon solar panels and will soon open a new chapter in quantum dots and nano technology applications.
Just recently the University of Queensland unveiled the largest flat panel solar panel system in the country; the 1.75 MW array will reduce the University's carbon emission by 1770 tons per year. Mainly the project will be used to further research and development of solar technology, and the collected data from the system will serve as the framework of the study.
Several Universities have also made groundbreaking research and discoveries in the solar field. The University of NSW has recently found a way to increase solar panel efficiency up to 19.3% while still keeping production cost at a record low.
This proves that cost effective solar power can be integrated with all aspects of our community, serving its primary purpose of saving money and reducing greenhouse gases while allowing research and development to take place that will continue to reduce the cost of renewable energy technology.
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