Magnetic Island Future Energy Workshop

Debbie Denison

The Townsville City Council conducted a Magnetic Island Future Energy Workshop & Tour on Sunday 27th and Monday 28th March.

A spokesperson for TCC told the MCN “Townsville City Council received $125,000 in funding from the Local Government Association of Queensland through the Queensland Government’s Great Barrier reef islands decarbonisation project to host community-based workshops on energy and circular economy and to conduct a study on developing a micro-grid on the island to make the island less reliant on power from the mainland.

Council will be putting together a Request for quotation (RFQ) as part of the MI Decarbonisation Project around a micro-grid concept. This RFQ will be sent to a range of energy management businesses. This RFQ will have the workshop outcomes attached and these outcomes will be made available to the Magnetic Island Community for comment.”

This follows on from the Earthcheck project.

The project focused on five key areas at a whole of community level; energy, water, waste, transport and resilience.

The Magnetic Island project began in 2019. Three information sessions and workshops - and 2 online surveys formed the community component of the project.

186 of the island’s 2,335 residents and 28 of the island’s 211 businesses responded to the online surveys.

The TCC spokesperson went on to say “A range of commercial energy efficiency and renewables companies attended the workshop including Ecosave; Power and Light; Greenpath Company; Hydrogen Hub and QUT Clean Energy Centre.”

The TCC spokesperson concluded by saying ”The collaborative workshop was designed to enable community members and businesses to share their individual perspectives and understandings on challenges and opportunities for energy on the island now and into the future.

The Magnetic Island Community Energy Working Group is chaired by Joseph Niven. Council understands that members of the Magnetic Island community are welcome to be part of the group and participate. Ergon Energy (Energy Queensland) and TCC Sustainability participate and provide collaborative communications, information and support the intent of the working group. A schedule for further workshops has not been set at this stage. Council may undertake further open workshops sometime in the coming months as part of its investigation into establishing a micro-grid on the island.”