Clarence Climate Action’s Climate Champions this month are local business owners Dr Alice and Kieran Frampton who recently installed two electric vehicle chargers in the staff carpark at Glebe Hill Family Practice, to add to their existing solar and battery set up.
Glebe Hill doctors lead the charge
When they first set up the practice a solar system was installed with the intention of reducing the practice’s environmental impact as well as keeping down business running costs. At the time, the value proposition of a battery just didn’t add up or fit within the budget, but as Kieran explains “A few years later, when looking at back-up power options for our vaccine fridges, we decided it made sense to expand our PV array and add a battery. This not only reduces the amount of energy we import from the grid, but also provides back-up power to our vaccine fridges which is invaluable for peace-of-mind. It also just made sense as we have a large north facing roof and most of the energy consumption occurs during the day”.
The financial benefits to the solar battery system have been significant, with Kieran estimating the business to have saved a total of around $24,000 through self-consumption of solar generated power ($22,700) and through exporting excess power to the grid ($1300) since the practice opened over 6 years ago.
More recently, the decision was made to add two electric vehicle chargers to the staff carpark. Kieran adds “Mostly we were motivated by being an attractive place for environmentally conscious health professionals and staff to work. It also makes it easier for people working with us to make the choice to buy electric vehicles and be able to charge at the workplace. At times we also have the luxury of producing more power through our PV array than the practice uses and I’d prefer to use this excess power to help reduce the living costs of the people we work with, than give the power away to Aurora at a low price for their commercial gain.”
Kieran and Alice are a leading example in how businesses can be instrumental in supporting communities to make the transition to renewable energy that is crucial in tackling the climate crisis. As Kieran puts it “I believe everyone has a responsibility to do what they can. As business owners, decisions around sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions can amplify the result significantly, so small decisions can have a more profound impact. And making decisions to be more environmentally sustainable can also help a business with financial viability, it doesn’t have to come with a significant out-of-pocket expense.”
Congratulations to Dr Alice and Kieran Frampton on being this month’s Climate Champions.
Eastern Shore Sun, October 2023, page 10