With the installation of a single residential solar system, the city of Townsville in Queensland, Australia embarks on an effort to turn itself into a leader in sustainable energy. The system is located on Magnetic Island just off the coast of Northeastern Australia, where Townsville aims to create a "solar suburb." Up to 500 residents and businesses will have solar PV systems installed free of charge. About 1700 other islanders will score consolation prizes ranging from smart meters and in-house energy use displays to CFL bulbs and low-flow showerheads.

In all, the city will receive $30 million (in Koala Bucks or whatever) of state and federal government assistance for the project. Other parts ofTownsville's sunny outlook include plans for a 150 house solar village, an upscale energy-lite apartment complex, and a big-idea sustainable building experiment in the central business district. The city expects to save 50,000 tons of GHG over the next seven years through the improvements.

The project is part of a $75 million (Didgeri-dollars) solar tech trial run by the Australian government intended to demonstrate the viability of solar energy and efficiency innovations. Townsville is one of four 'Solar Cities' chosen from around the country. In other Aussie energy news, Queensland is about to start exploring for local geothermal as well.

During the writing of this post, I found out that Queensland calls itself "The Sunshine State" - Florida to demand a recount I'm sure - and that the City of Townsville is also the setting for the superhero cartoon "The Powerpuff Girls." This 2nd item caused me substantial confusion for some time.

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