bassendeancommunity.org

		At this time ... Verve generates electricity Western Power moves it and Synergy sell it
		Alternatives to WA Government's Verve, Western Power & Synergy split up

Underground POWER	Safer streets, footpaths & lighting
	Improved home values	Back Want more information Things you can do
	Bigger trees - less pruning costs
	Better natural environment


Are the residents of Bassendean caught between a rock and a hard place? *Are there electricity alternatives?* YES!YES!YES!
MAKE it	MOVE it	MARKET it
Methane gas - from BIC Park Wind energy - Tonkin Industrial Park The Albany wind farm example Up to Fed Govt $8,000 for PV solar panels Up to Fed Govt $1,000 for solar hot water Alinta: gas/electricity conversion Verve - big price rises coming	Underground cable costings Typical horizontal boring machine Western Power - no exclusivity Suggested alternatives we can do Ratepayer help - better street lights Other uses - stormwater harvesting The Darling Harbour example	Retailing electricity - share profits 10% electricity cost savings for all $1 mill profits - no need to sell parks Synergy buyback scheme Landfill example (Blog)
Methane gas - from BIC Park Bic Park was once Hays Swamp and with the clay cover made in the 1930's, it might be a source of 'green' methane gas that could be converted to electricity (with silent fuel cells) and hence cash for the community. Bassendean Oval and other areas like Ashfield Flats could be harvested for more 'green energy' fuels. (See map below). It could make more money than losing the park to housing, not to mention the grass and trees. So shouldn't the Council open their eyes & consider the long term, and not short term land sales cash that goes to the WA Govt? UP Wind energy - Tonkin Park Surely as part of the Tonkin Industrial Park, that 'hides' behind 'Bassendean Mountain' near Railway Parade, there could be a number of wind turbines installed. The height restrictions due to Perth Airport have been removed with the reconfiguration of runway use. UP The Albany wind farm example 12x 1.8MW wind turbines supply enough energy for 10,000 homes (almost twice the homes in Bassendean), and they save 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year. The power could be used in the Tonkin Park industrial Park WITHOUT using Western Power to move the energy. Yes, they do have more wind enegy in Albany, so we would need more turbines or reduce the amount that could be produced. Federal Government rebate up to $8000 for solar photovoltaic panels to make own electricity on your roof. (AS compliance AS4509) Federal Government support of solar water heater swap for your electric storage hot water system. Alinta Gas conversion to electricity How they work. Small size. UP The unit above is for hydrogen to electricity conversion. Methane gas to electricity is a similar size. They need to be AS3010.1 compliant. No connection to Western Power for 24/7 underground supplied home or business electricity. The energy blog - various articles including University of New Hampshire's 85% of energy from landfill gas. UP There are 2 things from the above: Ratepayers can reduce the amount and cost of energy, even sourcing energy from town gas. The Town of Bassendean, like councils in the past, (and even ratepayers), can generate income from various energy sources within the Town. The Council's revenues can pay for underground services and other projects in Bassendean. Verve - big price rises coming Verve Energy has indicated in the press that their charges for electricity could increase some 40%. (West Aust Newspaper Sat Sept 1 2007). As a large percentage of their energy comes from coal and gas, then carbon credit penalties may also add to energy costs, making alternatives very cost competitive and worth another look! UP	Underground cable costings Fed Government Dept of Communications, Information, Technology and The Arts 5% Machinery 32% Cable 8% Substations 5% Conduit 5% Other 45% Labour There are 4 aspects of the program: Network conduits & cable install Cable connect to grid & home Dome to meter box service link Work compliance inspections If the Bassendean Council operated their own horizontal boring machine to installed the network and service conduits and ran the cable, this could be around 50% of the total costs. (Machine, conduit & labour). Cable, substations, connection and testing could be the other 50% supplied and done by other qualified service suppliers. Since July 2007, Western Power has changed its policy, so only private contractors will do the undergrounding. This fits with the concept of Bassendean 'doing their own thing'. UP Ditchwitch horizontal boring machine (or equivalent) Western Power - no exclusivity Western Power is an 'energy transport company'. Their costs for undergrounding services have made a major jump since April 2006, since moving towards 'privatisation'. UP Suggested alternatives We can do it ourselves .... Instead of waiting until 2009/2010, the Town of Bassendean starts now installing underground electricity services with our own equipment and a small group of about 4-5 staff. To make it all economic, the setup is used OUTSIDE the Town at commercial rates for say 3 weeks and then 1 week inside the Town. With revenues of $20,000 - $35,000 per week, depending on the conduit diameter, the package could in the 4th week, do the installation and pay the other connection costs from the revenues generated, with no cost to ratepayers. In a year, working the "3 to 1 week" scheme, the ratepayers could have 300 homes changed to underground electricity, and the Town have a new grid asset worth $3 million. (This asset could be retained or sold to Western Power or a competitor). To meet all ratepayer needs, it may be necessary to get 2 setups or vary the ratio between 'inside' and 'outside' work. A 'back-of-envelope' estimate is that it could take around 8 years to complete the task. The asset could be $50 million plus. UP Ratepayer support for improved street lighting The community may decide that the local ratepayers who benefitted from the scheme could make a much smaller contribution, say $1000 over 5 years , which could be used to upgrade the local street lighting, which would be also underground connected. UP Complementary other uses of the boring equipment: Stormwater Harvesting The horizontal boring machine could also be used to 'harvest' stormwater to keep our parks green, flush toilets and supply other water features.	Retailing electricity - sharing profits for extra revenue. While it may not be available today, it will soon be possible for the Town of Bassendean to purchase electricity in bulk, (both normal and 'green') and retail it back to customers, like the ratepayers. There has been many instances in WA of Councils generating electricity, installing and maintaining the grid and retailing the power to their ratepayers. This has occurred in both city and country shires. So, if Bassendean was generating electricity from a mix of landfill gas conversion and wind power from turbines above the Tonkin Industrial Park, then it would seem a logical extension to sell it to ratepayers, particularly if the suppliers like Verve Energy were charging more and also had to pay greenhouse gas penalties. If there were wind turbines on Tonkin Industrial Park and methane gas conversion from landfill, it could be possible to sell it to the grid at an appropriate (wholesale) rate. It could be smarter though to sell the generated green energy direct to the retail users in Bassendean, so making the whole exercise more profitable for the Town. UP $10 million current electricity purchases by customers in Bassendean each year ... possible 10% cost savings for homes and local businesses. It is estimated that the electricity users in Bassendean buy around $10 million of electrical energy per year. If the Town of Bassendean retailed electricity, then it could be possible for electricity consumers to pay 10% less for electricity - a nice discount for both home users and local businesses. UP $1 million in extra profits saves our parklands. Similarly, the Town could generate around $1 million per year in small but extra cash profits from the retail operations. That is equivalent to the rates from more than 1000 new homes. This is a lot of park land that does not have to be lost. Synergy buy back scheme More detail It is already possible to sell electricity back to the grid. There are peak, off-peak and shoulder rates. The peak rate is 11am -5pm, weekdays. The return is about 22.9 cents per unit. The lowest rate is 6.56 cents per unit. Normal domestic Synergy customers pay around 14 cents per unit. So, if you had solar cells on the roof, facing at the right angle to maximise their effectiveness, then a 1000 watt array (9 sq metres or about half what is shown above), could generate about $300 per year while you were at work. After you got your $8,000 from the Federal Government, then it would still cost about $4000 to assemble the array. The payback would be around 8-10 years based on inflation but you would feel good! UP


	The Darling Harbour Stormwater Harvesting System (Sydney NSW) was nominated for the 2007 Awards for Stormwater Excellence.
	Water from building roof areas, roadways and pathways is treated and stored in appropriate tanks, depending on the water uses. Water harvesting is used in the Chinese Gardens, Tumbalong Park, the Darling Walk, connecting irrigation, toilet cistern flushing and top up of the passing urban streams. The Town's own boring machine could do similar work inside and outside Bassendean. UP Perth water harvesting - 'rule-of-thumb' For average rainfall, stormwater from 1 sq metre in a year is enough water to support 1 sq metre of parkland watering, for a GREEN PARK, all year. TOP