Every dollar wasted on energy bills is an opportunity lost to enhance learning environments for students in Australia. By linking supply with renewable generation and implementing energy efficient initiatives, schools can help reduce and offset greenhouse gas emissions, whilst contributing to their vision for a sustainable future and building their legacy as an environmentally friendly institution.
How we are helping schools to achieve their sustainability goals
If your school has sustainability goals, a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) linked to wind, solar or a mix of both can be a tangible and cost-efficient way to help achieve them.
There is more renewable energy than ever entering the grid – and schools are ideal energy users to tap into the benefits.
Schools naturally suit renewable energy linked contracts, as their operating hours coincide perfectly to when there is an abundant supply of solar energy.
Schools can use PPAs to obtain renewable certificates (LGCs) and match up-to 100% of their energy consumption, so they are offsetting their energy consumption with an equivalent amount of renewable energy added to the grid.
Flow Power also helps schools reduce their carbon intensity by shifting their energy use to peak renewable energy times and reducing their dependency on fossil fuels.
Put simply, PPAs help schools. They offer low-cost energy for long-term periods and help schools to meet sustainability goals, while engaging students in real-world energy issues and supporting Australia’s pipeline of renewable projects.
What is a Power Purchase Agreement?
No matter who your provider is, it’s important to note electricity from the grid is typically the same.
Renewable energy generators (such as Flow Power) and fossil-fuel generators both export electricity to the grid, which is then distributed to you. In the process, it is combined and as a result – you can’t choose to use renewable energy only.
A PPA presents a solution for businesses wanting to manage cost and go greener at the same time, by establishing a link between consumers and renewable energy generators. Under these arrangements, you pay for a portion of the clean energy a renewable generator (such as a wind or solar farm) puts into the grid, together with the certificates (called ‘LGCs’) that the renewable energy generator is entitled to receive. This provides a medium to long-term hedge for energy prices and allows you to recognise an equivalent amount of your energy consumption as having zero emissions.
See how you can connect your school to renewable energy projects here.
Including energy data in your curriculum
Purchasing energy through a Flow Power PPA can provide your students with unique learning opportunities, using real data from your energy usage. Students can see their school’s approach to renewable energy and learn how to implement these changes at home and raise their community’s awareness of renewable energy.
At Flow Power, we believe in putting the power back into the hands of energy users. Our mission is to provide market transparency, knowledge, and innovative tools to empower customers to take control of their energy.
When your school is linked with the kWatch Controller (included with all Flow Power plans) you will be able to access real-time data, alerts and automation, which help you reach your energy goals sooner.
You can learn more information on the kWatch Controller here.
Every Flow Power customer also gets access to the Customer Portal, which gives you an overview of your total energy consumption, recent invoices, billing information and how much power you are using at certain times of the day.
These handy tools can be used to power up your STEM classes. By showing your students live data to help them understand energy usage, energy efficiency and the actions that can be taken to improve your bill while taking advantage of renewable energy.
Another tool is the OpenNEM energy mix and price graph, which shows the different energy sources supplying the grid with energy in any state across the NEM.
The OpenNEM project aims to make the wealth of public National Electricity Market (NEM) data more accessible. You can access their live data here.
We can also help facilitate excursions to your linked renewable energy sites (subject to owners’ discretion) to further the student’s education on renewable energy.
Including energy data in your curriculum
If you have any questions about PPA’s or need help deciding whether buying energy linked to renewable generation would work for your school, please don’t hesitate to contact the Flow Power team.
If you’re an existing Flow Power customer, please do not hesitate to reach out to your account manager.
If you’re not a Flow Power customer, feel free to contact our friendly team
? 1300 08 06 08
Alternatively, you can submit your questions through our website contact form here.
