Friday, September 25, 2015

Magnetic Island: Sunshine, Sand and Solar Energy

After travelling through the outback, it’s been really great to finally hit the coast and see a bit of blue and green. We’ve took the ferry to Magnetic Island for a couple of days of camping and enjoyed the laid back feel of the island and the great opportunities for a swim in the warm waters and a bit of snorkelling. More than 85% of all Australians live within 50km of the coast!  I may be biased but I think Australia’s has some of the world’s best beaches…and many of them are completely deserted!


We also discovered that Magnetic Island was one of seven locations across Australia that is being transformed into a ‘solar city’ as part of the Australian Government’s Solar Cities program. I read that the Government is investing $94 million in the Solar Cities program with the intention of transforming the way we think and use energy. We were amazed to discover this innovative skate park project that advertises the fact that it is not just a play station…it is a power station!  The 100KW system on the roof of this skate park was designed with a lot of community consultation and peak demand on the island is now lower than 2007 levels. The project has been a great result for the community and a wonderful example of integrating passive and active recreation with energy production.

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