The Theme for Earthday 2025 is Our Power Our Planet
Renewable energy is vital for reducing CO2 emissions as lower emissions will mitigate global warming, the impacts of which have already been felt on the planet and on human populations around the globe. Climate change has increased the severity and frequency of storms, floods, droughts and bush fires.
In 2020, Lord Howe Island embraced renewable energy with the installation of a hybrid renewable energy system.
Up until the early 1950’s, Island residents wanting electricity had to purchase their own small household generator systems. Then, in 1954, a community power supply was reticulated around Lord Howe Island using centralised diesel generators from the Department of Civil Aviation facility opposite the public hall. As demand increased, larger diesel generators were installed on the Island and run by the LHI Board.
In 2010, a Sustainable Energy Working Group comprising six Island residents, was convened by the Lord Howe Island Board to promote renewable energy to the community. Open days were held at the public hall and residents were polled on potential sites for a small solar farm with wind turbines, and to gather community feedback.
In 2011, Powercorp was engaged to prepare a “Power Generation Roadmap” aiming for 63% “Renewable Operations” at Lord Howe Island. The Roadmap was adopted by the Lord Howe Island Board in 2012. As part of the switch to renewable energy, Island residents were invited to install their own rooftop solar, and roughly 104 kW of rooftop solar has been installed.
In 2011, canvassing of Island residents by the Sustainable Energy Working Group led to the relocation of the powerhouse from the village centre to its current site near Middle Beach.
In 2014, the Lord Howe Island Board sought funding for the project: the Federal Government’s ARENA agreed to contribute $4m (39% of the total funding); and the State Treasury offered a “loan” of $5.9m (57% of the total funding) to be repaid through savings in diesel and from existing recurrent State Government funding to the Island. The remaining $0.5 million (4% of funding) would be supplied by the Lord Howe Island Board.
In 2019, The Lord Howe Island Board, in partnership with Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), awarded a contract to Photon Energy Engineering Australia Pty Ltd to design, and deliver the infrastructure.
By 2021, some 3,240 ground-mounted solar panels had been installed, fixed at 20-degree angle across a north-facing slope on Transit Hill, adjoining the powerhouse and surrounded by cow pastures and native subtropical forest.
The project’s final design incorporated 1.328MW of solar energy generation capacity and 3.712MWh of battery storage.
For the local community, there is reduced potential for a future ‘diesel price shock’ and reduced maintenance costs for the diesel generators in the powerhouse, in addition to the following: our greenhouse gas emissions at the powerhouse have been cut by 66%; the burning of some 360,000 litres of diesel per year has been saved; there is a reduced the risk of fuel spills in the marine environment and on land; the Island has more energy self-sufficiency; and power prices are now less dependent on world oil prices.
The solar farm has provided a clear opportunity to supply clean energy for new functions particularly electric vehicles. In fact, the community has taken up the electric vehicle challenge with enthusiasm, and there are now 15 fully electric vehicles – cars, vans and one ute – on the Island, plus a huge increase in the number of e-bikes.
At the Lord Howe Island Museum we have a monitor that continuously displays the real-time functioning of the Island Renewable Energy system, including the amount of energy received from the sun.
Updates on the renewable energy generated by the project can be seen on the Board’s live-linked dashboard.
Art and Earthday
To celebrate the 55th Anniversary of international Earthday, the Lord Howe Island Museum and, cultural centres from around the world, collaborated in screening a collection of ecosystem-honouring films from artists from Australia, China, Malaysia, Spain, Turkiye and the United States.
Screenings were held at Baltimore Woods Nature Centre (NY), CUHK Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change (Hong Kong), Havre de Grace Maritime Museum (Maryland), Morton Memorial Library Rhinecliff (NY), National Lighthouse Museum (NYC), Putnam History Museum Cold Spring (NY), Queens Botanical Garden (NYC), Thompson-Mazzarella Park (NY) and Lord Howe Island Museum (NSW).
Here is a link to the art shows
