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Michael Maidens of Oceanic Drive at Warana has become the 500th resident to sign on for the Sunshine Coast Environment Council/Sunshine Coast Daily 1000 Roof Solar Challenge.

Mr Maidens was presented with an energy meter to mark the milestone but for his motivation was to do something positive about climate change and to reduce his own environmental footprint.

“The fact that I also save money and add value to my home is an added bonus” Mr Maidens said.

“I work from home, so it would be nice to know my office will be powered by the sun on sunny days.”

Mr Maidens is also concerned that with privatisation of electricity costs would continue to go up.

SCEC manager, Narelle McCarthy, said she was delighted with the way Sunshine Coast residents have embraced solar power to reduce their electricity use.

“This is not just about putting some solar panels on the roof but about raising awareness and understanding of minimising energy and greenhouse generation,” she said.

“Queenslanders have one of the highest per capita greenhouse rates in the world.”

Residents who sign up for the challenge will be able to access an energy reader which measures how much energy an appliance uses.

“People are prompted to make some changes such as turning off the standby power and maybe even shutting down the old bar fridge when it is not required,” Ms McCarthy said.

There are only five weeks to go before the existing Commonwealth Government rebate of $8000 finishes at the end of June. It is available to households earning under $100,000 per year.

The environment council estimates that residents who install 1kW of solar panels on their roof could save up to $600 on their electricity bill per year add over $10,000 value to their property value and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 1.4 tonnes a year.

Further information is available at www.scec.org.au or by phoning toll free 1800 99 33 34.

Source:  Bill Hoffman – http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2009/may/23/roof-solar-challenge-half-way/