Tuesday, 21 February 2023

 Natalie HUTCHINS (Sydenham – Minister for Education, Minister for Women) (14:20): I rise to talk about the Andrews Labor government’s support for schools to become more sustainable by investing in renewable energy production at school sites. We want our schools to benefit from lower electricity bills and also to contribute to the state’s renewable targets. And kids – they care about the environment. Whether I am at Kew secondary college or a south-coast secondary college, I have spoken to so many student leaders who are so passionate about greening our schools and making sure that our schools are feeding into our renewables program, particularly the energy target of sourcing 100 per cent renewable energy for all Victorian government operations, including our schools, by 2025.

We are doing that by supporting two key programs. One is the installation of new solar systems, and the second is maintaining the solar systems that are currently in place around our schools. Through our program of solar inspections the VSBA has conducted over 700 inspections at our schools. That has led to 370 old systems being replaced – a saving of $2 million to our school budgets just in that program. Secondly, we are also proactively adding renewable energy capacity for schools through the greener government school buildings program, which is up-front funding for installation of new solar power systems. 232 schools have already benefited from this, and that again has led to a reduction in electricity bills of $2.5 million across our school system. That is a great investment, and this is just the start. There is a round 3 opening up soon: $4.6 million to go across 70 schools.