In May last year, South Australias Port Augusta’s Power station announced its closure and disconnected from the network. This had a dramatic effect on the state’s energy prices, where prices swung from $500 a megawatt hour to over $14,000 a megawatt hour. This had some of the state’s largest employers threatening shut downs (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-28/sa-energy-price-‘big-lessons’-for-nation/7667486).
Victoria is now facing a similar crisis as Hazelwood power station contemplates closing its doors forever. With Hazelwood supplying up to one-quarter of the state’s electricity, many fear that electricity prices could sky rocket.
While the owners of the station have not confirmed whether or not the station will be shut down, sources at Fairfax Media believe that the state government has already been informed that the owners intend to close as early as April 2017 (http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/hazelwood-shutdown-victorias-dirtiest-power-station-set-to-close-early-next-year-20160923-grn0ph.html).
The official decision and announcement is scheduled to be made at the next board meeting in October, where Hazelwood’s 1,000 employees will discover their fate. If the station is closed, Victoria could also see its electricity prices soar and businesses close.
Many experts believe that following its closure, Australians will need to look for alternative power sources that do not rely on harmful fossil fuels. This includes sourcing environmentally friendly pool heating options.
Gas heaters and Heat pumps are popular forms of pool heating as they can heat you pool year round. However, this benefit comes with the drawback of consuming large amounts of harmful fossil fuels which are not only harmful to the environment, but are also extremely costly to run. With Hazelwood’s closure, heating your pool with a Gas heater or Heat pump may become unaffordable.
Solar Pool Heating is the most energy efficient and cost effective pool heating option on the market, see the below table to compare the running costs of the various pool heating options.
By installing a Boss solar pool heating system, over the life of its warranty, you will save the planet 140 tons of greenhouse gas emissions compared to a Heat Pump and 160 tons of greenhouse gas emissions compared to a Gas Heater. Over the same period the pool owner will save up to $69,850 and $80,580 on running costs compared to a Heat Pump and Gas Heater respectively and that’s without the Hazelwood price increases!
For Pool owners who wish to swim in the cooler months, the financially clever and environmentally responsible option is to combine a Boss Solar System with a Gas Heater or Heat Pump and benefit from significant savings.
If you are interested in installing a Solar System and would like to know how much money you could save, visit our Solar Savings Calculator here or give Boss Solar a call on (03) 9561 2777.