City of Karratha awards tender for Leisureplex solar power project in hopes of slashing electricity costs

Plans to slash electricity costs of the Karratha Leisureplex by half have moved forward with the local government awarding a tender for the solar power project. City of Karratha councillors at last week’s meeting unanimously approved a motion to award the tender for the Karratha Leisureplex Solar Initiative to Perth-based West Australian Alternative Energy. The approved motion authorised the City to negotiate cost savings and execute a contract with West Australian Alternative Energy. A City officer’s report stated the preferred option included a significant solar array of some 4,000sqm of roof-mounted panels, electrical infrastructure and battery storage. The City allocated $4.15m in the 2021/22 budget for the initiative, with the facility currently estimated to use $700,000 worth of power per year. City of Karratha Mayor Peter Long said the chosen supplier came well within council’s allocated budget. “We still need to negotiate aspects of their price,” he said. “It’s very complicated the options included different sizes and numbers of batteries, different number of size solar panels.” Cr Long said the recommendation to choose West Australian Alternative Energy came from an independent analyst. “Now we don’t know exactly what the total bill is going to be, but the one that we’ve chosen was the cheapest of the options,” he said. “We need to discuss some more different battery options, different numbers of solar panels, and different types of solar panels.”