This is what 1 ton of CO2 looks like...

First meeting for 2010

The first CRAG meeting for 2010 will be on Wednesday, 20 January at 7pm at 2 Broadway Street, Red Hill. Hope to see you all then!

Our PV system

We had a photovoltaic system installed in November last year, and so far it's all systems go. It's a 1Kw system supplied and installed by eco-Kinetics. Thanks to a deal they had going back in August 2008, total cost was $365 for the system (after rebates) plus about $1,000 for a new switchbox (which also had to be relocated).

On a sunny day, it produces about 6 KwH of electricty. We use an average of not much more than 6 KwH of electricity per day so allowing for cloudy days we should end up with well over half of our electricity usage provided through solar. Energex will pay us 44 cents per KwH that we export to the grid, through the Solar Bonus Scheme. Even with the extra we're paying to have 100% GreenPower, we should get a decent refund off our next bill. It's due in February, so I'll let you know then how we went.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2010! It'll be a big start to the year for the North Brisbane CRAG, with plenty on the agenda. We'll be doing our first annual tally of members' annual emissions, which will be very interesting - who will have made their target and who will have missed it?!? We will also be working out who will be the beneficiary of the funds that we raise through penalties paid by those who've missed their targets. We are looking to identify a community group on the north side that we can help to reduce their emissions. If you've got any ideas, let me know!

The other big question for the group will be to decide a target for 2010. Do we go for another 20% reduction? Or start to ease back? And how will we be able to reduce emissions while enjoying overseas and interstate holidays? Stay tuned for the answers to all these questions, and more! Or better still, come along to our next meeting...