The City of Casey is committed to procuring 100 per cent of Council’s corporate electricity supply through renewable energy sources.
From 1 July 2025, the City of Casey will be joining 51 other Councils as part of the Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO). VECO is the largest emissions reduction project ever undertaken by the local government sector in Australia and will provide cost-effective renewable energy generated by Victorian wind farms for Council’s operations through a renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
City of Casey Chair of Administrators Noelene Duff PSM said electricity usage makes up approximately 73 per cent (around 11,000 tonnes of CO2) of Council’s greenhouse gas emissions profile.
“Transitioning to renewable electricity will contribute significantly towards meeting our net zero target by 2030 for Council operations, set out in Casey’s Climate Action Plan 2022-2030,” she said.
“Accessing VECO will help reduce Council’s total emissions by at least 60,000 tonnes of CO2 over the five-and-a-half-year contract, putting Council in a strong position moving forward.”
The Climate Action Plan was adopted in February 2022 and maps Council’s strategic direction towards achieving our net zero emissions targets.
Some of the ways Council is addressing climate changes include:
- Replacing approximately 8,152 mercury vapour decorative street lights in parks, open spaces, and reserves with LEDs.
- The installation of solar PV and battery storage systems on Council buildings.
- Adding fully electric vehicles to our fleet.
- Improving the energy and water efficiency of our buildings and infrastructure.
- Transitioning gas-consuming buildings to all electric.
- Ensuring that all new and fully refurbished Council buildings have environmentally sustainable design (ESD) features to minimise energy and water consumption and costs.
Council is also supporting and empowering the Casey community to reach net zero emissions by 2040 through a number of initiatives, including:
- Access to Solar Savers, a local government initiative helping residents and business owners in Casey cut their power bills and their carbon footprint by installing solar.
- Access to energy and water efficiency home audit kits and induction cooktops, which can be borrowed for free from Connected Libraries.
- Access to a $200 household energy efficiency rebate to reduce energy costs and improve thermal comfort.
- Access to Business Energy Savers, a program assisting Casey businesses to upgrade inefficient appliances and lighting through the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) subsidy program.
