A word from the CEO – July 2023

Welcome to a bumper edition of the VicWater Update featuring many of our members and the great things they are doing to achieve positive outcomes for their business and people, their customers and community, and the environment.

Another good example is Zero Emissions Water (ZEW), a collaboration of 12 water corporations in a power purchase agreement with Kiamal Solar Farm. ZEW members purchase and retire large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) to demonstrate reductions in their electricity-related emissions, helping them reach their commitment to source 100% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

Last month Stuart Craven and I joined a number of industry and government colleagues on a site visit to Kiamal Solar Farm outside Ouyen. Ironically the day was completely overcast with not a ray of sun to be seen, but we braved the cold and rainy weather and gained a good understanding of how the solar farm operates and the benefits it delivers to ZEW members. The following day we visited three blue mallee plantation sites that make up Wannon Water’s carbon sequestration project, the first of its kind when established in 2009.

From a VicWater perspective, the two days were a great opportunity for us to spend time with members and take on board valuable learnings that will help inform future industry collaborations, most immediately the next phase of our carbon offsets project (see Stuart’s policy update below).