Narromine Public School has tapped into Hydro technology that harnesses sunlight and air to provide clean drinking water for the students, even through times of drought.
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The country primary school has installed 10 off-grid hydropanels that convert sunlight and air into quality drinking water without relying on electricity or a water source.
The initiative was a collaboration between US-based SOURCE Global and the NSW Department of Education.
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Now in 52 countries, SOURCE Global's off-grid, technology is serving businesses, and communities in remote regions, those facing water scarcity, contamination or aging, unreliable infrastructure.
SOURCE Global business head Robert Bartrop said the hydropanels had been installed at a number of rural schools across central and western NSW such as Walgett and Canobolas so they will continue to have reliable drinking water after levels get low in tanks or bores.
He said the partnership with the department came about due to the regions doing it tough during the last drought but the roll-out was affected by the COVID pandemic.
"Narromine school students lived through the drought, and they are now seeing how increased storms and flooding can threaten the drinking water supply, so they weren't surprised to learn that by 2050, six billion people will suffer from clean water scarcity due to climate change," Mr Bartrop said.
On Friday, SOURCE Business development director Hamish Thompson and market development director Alex Polson showed students how the technology uses the energy of the sun to draw water from the abundant supply of water vapor in the air, with no electricity or piped water infrastructure.
"Innovations like SOURCE are vital to solving the problem, but to truly achieve climate resilience, we will need the commitment and ingenuity of our young people. That's why days like this one are so important," Mr Bartop said.
As well as drought-proofing the schools, the introduction of the panels is also about reducing plastic in the environment by cutting out the need for bottled water to be brought in.
According to the company, a single panel can offset more than 57,000 single-use plastic water bottles in its lifetime.