The Smart Energy for Switched-On Students giveaway – of a three-year energy and education package worth over $7000 – has been awarded to Brentwood Secondary College at Glen Waverley in Victoria.
The giveaway was conducted by Wattwatchers Digital Energy with our schools specialist partners Solar Schools, as part of the My Energy Marketplace (MEM) project supported by grant funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)*.
Wattwatchers and Solar Schools are currently installing special MEM energy and education packages at up to 250 schools Australia-wide. Opportunities to join the roll-out remain open, with participating schools receiving subsidies from ARENA worth over $2000 towards the full cost of the packages (co-contributions from eligible schools, or on their behalf, are required).
Brentwood’s entry for the giveaway, submitted by the school’s sustainability coordinator, was chosen from a competitive field due to the stand-out excellence of the school’s application message, outlining its inspirational vision for using data to help drive its ‘zero by 2030’ future.
The winner told us: ‘Brentwood Secondary College is working towards reducing our emissions to zero by 2030. We have already installed a 99kW solar PV system. We have managed to decrease our emissions by 23% from 2016 to 2019 by promoting recycling, composting and mass tree planting. Students have been collecting data relating our resource usage to inform our college community to reduce our footprint. We are looking at ways to further strengthen our data collection and analysis tools. Winning this package will put us in the driver’s seat to drive our emissions down easily and reach our target quicker.
Wattwatchers CEO Gavin Dietz congratulated Brentwood College on its win. ‘We were delighted to see the school display a sophisticated understanding of how data collection and analytics would help it to achieve its sustainability ambitions,’ said Dietz.
Solar Schools CEO Rob Breuer said Solar Schools is delighted to be part of Brentwood College’s journey to reduce their emissions and minimise their carbon footprint. ‘The prize includes access to Australian Curriculum aligned unit plans and lesson plans, training and support for integrating energy data into the classroom, making it more visible for students, staff, parents and the wider community,’ said Breuer.
*The My Energy Marketplace project is receiving funding from ARENA as part of ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government, and the Australian Government does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein.
