Community Schemes
NSW Public Facilities Program for Water and Energy Savings
The Public Facilities Program provides funding for water and energy savings in public and community facilities in NSW. As well as directly resulting in water and energy savings, the intention is that the program should encourage the wider community to take up the technologies used.
The program initially had two components: Demonstration Project and Community Savers Projects.
The Demonstration projects were intended to show how water and energy savings work in practice in public or educational facilities which are open to, and frequently accessed, by the public. In excess of seventy demonstration projects were completed prior to the process being halted. The funding was available to local councils or groups of councils, schools/groups of schools or other educational facilities, NSW State Government agencies and other educational facilities operating on a non-profit basis.
Information on the completed demonstration project can be accessed at the following link Demonstration Project.
The Community Savers projects provide support for not-for-profit community organisations to implement simple and low-cost water and energy saving upgrades in the buildings they use.
So far in excess of 400 community organisations have taken advantage of this program to make their facilities more water and energy efficient. The NSW Office of Environment & Heritage estimates these projects have saved 2.1 billion litres of water and 92,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the first ten years. It is estimated that the participating organisations will also save an average $4,900 a year on bills.
The program is open to legally constituted not-for-profit entities including:
- registered clubs, such as sporting and ex-services clubs;
- pre-school facilities;
- rural community organisations;
- health and aged care facilities;
- religious organisations;
- other public and community-based facilities operating on a not-for-profit basis;
- community organisations operating out of council or government owned buildings.
Funding of up to $40,000 is available for a project under the scheme. The types of items that will be funded include:
- installing water efficient toilets, fixtures and fittings;
- upgrades to lighting and hot water systems;
- insulation and other measures to improve heating and cooling efficiency; and
- installation of rainwater tanks that are connected to a toilet or new irrigation system.