Charles Sturt University has invested more than $7.5 million into an ongoing solar project which upon completion will generate enough energy to power "a small town."
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The university has projected savings of more than $700,000 a year though the expansion of rooftop solar panel installations across its campuses.
Ed Maher manages CSU Green, the program responsible for driving the universities' sustainability goals.
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He said the solar power generated would be used for anything that requires electricity across the university's Orange, Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst and Dubbo campuses.
"Firstly in the building where the power was first produced, then elsewhere on campus, and then even off-campus into the grid if we produce electricity surplus to our needs," he said.
Mr Maher said the university currently spends more than $5 million annually on all energy use.
"It is important from a financial sustainability perspective that we take active steps to reduce these costs," he said.
CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann attended the Orange campus on Friday to discuss the institution's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.
"We recognise that climate change remains one of the single greatest environmental and social challenges that we face and we will continue to create change in our regions to address these challenges," Professor Van said in a university statement.
"After considerable study, we concluded that roof-top solar panel systems were the most practical and cost effective sources for our needs as we have sought to maximise the amount of on-site renewable energy produced on each of our six campuses."Professor Vann also launched the university's Sustainability Statement to publicly declare its commitment to green initiatives.
He said the statement was a significant milestone in CSU's commitment to best practice in sustainability.
"The Sustainability Statement builds a sustainability mindset to inform our decision-making and embed sustainability within the fabric of the University - within our practices, actions and life beyond the university," he said.
CSU became Australia's first Carbon Neutral certified university in 2016.