Pittwater High School Solar Power Station Media Man Australia

Solar Power Station

Pittwater High School Solar Power Station

Principal Ross Cusworth

Craige McWhirter, Greg Tingle and ALP member

Solar Power play

Greg Tingle, former Pittwater High School Student and director of Media Man Australia (Photo credits: Patricia Feijoo)

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Pittwater High School Solar Power Station was officially opened on the 14th March 2008

Hundreds were present including students, parents, teachers, politicians and media. More news coming soon.

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Solar flair set to do a world of good - The Manly Daily

Dad makes school powerful - The Daily Telegraph

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Solar flair set to do a power of good, by Rebecca Wooley - 3rd August 2007
(Credit: The Manly Daily)

When Bill Holland's son made all the electrical appliances in his bedroom run from natural energy, it inspired the family to go further and make the entire Clareville home solar powered.

Everything from the kettle, microwave and washing machine to the fridge, lights and phone chargers are now powered round the clock by 28 solar roof panels.

Now the energy-efficient activist wants companies to back a campaign to turn Pittwater High School into a solar power station, making it a ``prototype'' school and carbon neutral within a year.

``My wife and I have been interested in doing this at the school for around five years,'' he said. ``We need a 165kW system. That would power the whole school.

``We do not do it to save money, we do it because we cannot just keep burning fossil fuels. That's the bottom line.''

Next month, Mr Holland plans to have at least 20 panels put on the roof of the school where three of his four children attend.

The plan won the support of principal Ross Cusworth, who had already seen the school become one of the first in NSW to install a 100,000-litre water tank.

``It's a very exciting adventure,'' Mr Cusworth said. ``It's part of a broader project to show the community that our school can operate in a carbon neutral way.

``We want to put 1000 solar panels on the school so that in a sense it enables us to be a solar power station ourselves.''

As the school operates only 202 days a year, it will eventually produce more energy than it will use, meaning the surplus can go back into the national grid.

``It's not all going to happen overnight,'' Mr Cusworth said. ``We have already had some people in the community willing to donate panels.''

Federal Greens candidate for Mackellar Craige McWhirter, who used to attend Pittwater High School, is donating one solar panel, with two more being given by the Northern Beaches Greens.

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Pittwater High School Solar Power Station