THE COOLUM at the Beach resort, which takes up a large block in central Coolum, has made a sizeable investment in their energy future by spending $400,000 on a solar installation for the entire complex.
The Coolum at the Beach Body Corporate Committee approved the investment and has stated that the project is “undoubtedly the most significant strata installation in the Sunshine Coast Local Government Area.”
The complex straddles one whole block from David Low Way to Sunrise Avenue and is flanked by Margaret and Hewitt St comprises 95 apartments and 14 villas with 30 permanent residents and a mix of both holiday and long-term rentals.
The installation was not cheap, and in order to secure the purchase, the Body Corporate footed half of the bill via the sinking fund and the other half was obtained via a loan from the Macquarie Bank in a move that was seen as the most equitable for past and new owners.
However, a spokesperson for the Body Corporate said that the savings would soon be seen in just a few years.
“We have four swimming pools here, and two are heated, and our power bill comes in at around $80,000 a year, so we started investigating solar.”
With the help of ‘Zero Emissions Noosa’, the group established that a large-scale solar investment was the way to go.
“We voted for this at our AGM, and all voted in favour of this project, and now we control our power ourselves.”
At a recent afternoon celebration, residents from the complex and invited members of the community were shown exactly how the system works.
“In our foyer, we have a screen that shows very clearly how much energy we are using and how much we are drawing and on sunny days, we are providing all of our energy, and it’s very easy to see… It’s a very interesting piece of technology!”
The environmental aspect of solar was also a priority for the resort.
“This is definitely good marketing for the resort, and we live in a beautiful coastal region that we want to preserve, and we are also looking at potentially installing charging stations for electric vehicles.”
The solar installation took around six weeks and was completed by early April.
