Take a bird’s eye view of Brookvale and help us with an exciting new project.
Brookvale is home to the largest commercial area within the Northern Beaches and it’s also a powerhouse for renewable energy. Large and small, owner operated or rented, retail, service and light industrial; businesses of all shapes and sizes are taking advantage of low interest rates and high returns to go green and boost their bottom line at the same time.
We all know about regional solar farms but can it be done in a city? This article suggests yes. Who knows, maybe we can build a solar farm right here on the Northern Beaches!
Brookvale currently has nearly 7000 solar panels covering around 5% of suitable roof spaces. The Northern Beaches Council’s 2030 target of covering 50% of suitable roof space would see Brookvale become a virtual power station, producing 20MWp. That’s equivalent to the Royalla Solar Farm, Australia’s biggest solar farm, which can generate clean energy equivalent to the consumption of around 4,500 homes in the area.
How do we know this? Because Zero volunteer Chris Lee has spent hours counting them.
Now he’s onto the next phase of the study. It can all be done from your computer, so if you can navigate a spreadsheet and use Six Maps, we would love your help. You can do as much or as little as you like. Just get in touch with Chris and he will send you instructions on how to take a bird’s eye view.
Harriet here, aka hello@zerosydneynorth.org. Do you want to volunteer for Zero Emissions? I’ll be setting up a jobs page on this website as soon as I get the time but, for now, a quick blogpost about some specific roles we’re looking to fill in our brilliant Zero Emissions Sydney North community.
I wish, I wish for…
1. Tent wrangler
What: Packing up our market stall and driving the kit to local storage.
How long: 1 hour
How often: Once a month
On the first Saturday of each month we have a stall at Mosman markets. We pack up around 2.30pm, and we are looking for someone to help. Ideally, you are handy, fit, don’t swear too much, and have the use of a car so that you can help our volunteers dismantle the tent, pack up the bits and pieces and drive them to our storage spot round the corner in Mosman.
What: Curate our instagram account with fun pictures, sassy comments and links to our events / programs
How long: A few minutes a day and a fortnightly meeting on zoom
How often: 4 or 5 times a week
Social media is central to how we keep in touch, network and promote our activities, and at the moment we use Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Our brilliant insta curator, Camilla Tilly, has gone to Sweden to work with the groundbreaking agricultural cooperative Lantmannen. It’s a tough act to follow, but if you take good photos, want to make a difference, and don’t mind checking in with our comms manager (me) once a fortnight, please get in touch.
What: create video case studies to bring our solar stories to life
How long: Not gunna lie, I know this is very time-consuming. Every bit helps.
How often: completely up to you
Video case studies are incredibly useful for articulating how adding solar to your roof makes sense. We have some budget to pay for video services, but not nearly enough to create the five videos clips we are aiming in 2021. This is a big ask, but it also makes a big impact.
What: help out program leaders when they’re overwhelmed. Might be making cups of tea or picking up printing or sending some emails or walking a dog…
How long: how long is a piece of string?
How often: up to you, but a couple of hours a month would be great
If you’re between jobs, between uni studies, or just have a bit of time now and then and are happy to put your hand to anything, we’d love to hear from you. Volunteer with Zero Emissions.
