24 September 2008
On Sunday 21 September, I joined Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts Peter Garrett, Essendon Football Club Managing Director Peter Jackson and Essendon Captain Matthew Lloyd at Windy Hill to mark the start of construction work for an 800,000 litre water storage system - which will be housed underneath the famed Windy Hill oval surface.
The Federal Government is providing the Essendon Football Club with up to $1.5 million for water and energy efficiency upgrades to its facilities at Windy Hill. The funding honours an election commitment and this is the first project under the $15 million Green Precincts Fund that will support at least 10 demonstration sites around Australia.
The Fund is providing matching funding of $500,000 to $1.5 million to community organisations, sporting clubs, and state, territory and local governments for water and energy efficiency demonstration projects in high-profile sites.
The Green Precincts Fund forms part the Government’s $12.9 billion Water for the Future plan to secure the long-term water supplies of all Australians.
The Windy Hill precinct will generate renewable energy through solar or wind power, and install solar hot water services and building monitoring systems including smart metering. This will result in substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Guidelines for submitting an Expression of Interest for the Green Precincts Fund are available from
Expressions of Interest must be received by 22 November 2008.
