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Climate conversations training

Posted by Mike Pulsford · October 07, 2024 12:34 PM

The next step to becoming a spokesperson for Australian Parents for Climate Action is creating a localised Solar Our Schools pitch.

A key part of our federal election strategy is to work with our local groups to have tangible, achievable, strategic climate actions “asks” that you are empowered to take to your local Federal MP’s, and to also get these “asks” covered in local and national media stories. 

Funding Solar Our Schools federally is a solutions-based policy you can ask your Federal MP to back in their party, as a concrete action that their party can commit to as part of their roadmap to net-zero emissions. 

Thus we need for you to be able to pitch Solar Our Schools to your local Federal MP as a policy that would be good for both your local community and the nation.

You can learn more about Solar Our Schools here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

28 JANUARY 2021

AUSTRALIAN PARENTS for Climate Action has renewed calls for the Federal Government to prioritise funding for solar panels on every school and early childhood education centre in Australia, ahead of the deadline for public submissions for the next Federal Budget.

Write to the Northern Territory Minister for Education asking her to work in partnership with the federal government to support funding and remove barriers to Solar Our Schools.

You can cut and paste the template below and customise it where indicated. Or write your own letter.

Email your letter to: [email protected]

Please also bcc our Volunteer Director [email protected]

-------------------------------------------------------

The Hon Lauren Moss MP Minister for Education

GPO Box 3146 Darwin NT 0801

Dear Minister,

RE Solar Infrastructure for Schools & Early Learning Centres

INSERT: Brief specific info — how many children you have, where you live and why you are worried about their future due to climate change.

I am writing to ask the Northern Territory State Government to work in partnership with the Federal Government to support Solar Our Schools: a COVID-19 recovery initiative that would see solar panels and batteries in all schools and early childhood centres across Australia. 

This excellent economic investment will:

• Create many thousands of regional and local jobs
• Save schools and early childhood centres thousands of dollars per year to put towards educational resources
• Immediately reduce carbon emissions

I am one of more than 11,000 parents nationwide who have signed Australian Parents for Climate Action's open letter to the Prime Minister calling for Federal support for Solar Our Schools.

In the past the Northern Territory Government has funded some state schools to get solar panels, however there are still many state schools without solar or with insufficient solar, and very few with batteries. 

In addition, many early childhood centres and small independent schools across the Northern Territory do not have solar or batteries, and find the financial and administrative burden too great to access solar.

Installing solar panels in a distributed way across the rooftops of early childhood centres and schools allows them to generate solar for their operations, saving them many thousands of dollars in electricity bills, which can be put towards teaching and learning resources.

INSERT: Brief information about your own kids' school/preschools and whether they have solar. Why would solar (or more solar) and batteries be good for your school/preschool?

What's exciting about coupling solar with batteries is that it unlocks the ability of schools and early childhood centres to become Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) — allowing them to trade their excess solar power with the community via an energy market operator. 

Homes like mine in the surrounding area can choose to buy dispatchable energy from school VPPs, enabling the school to earn money to put towards learning resources. This will also stabilize the grid during peak demand events. Schools are closed during most peak demand events — weekends, evenings and school holidays.

Enabling every Australian school and early childhood centre to act as VPPs would provide also 1000 megawatts of dispatchable power into the electricity grid — the equivalent of the Liddell coal-fired power plant.

Importantly, allowing schools to act as VPPs also enables their surrounding communities to have a resilient local power source and emergency safe haven, which is increasingly important in regional areas as we face climate-related big weather events.

I ask that you commit to working with the Federal Government to:

• Fund solar panels for state schools, who do not yet have solar or who have an insufficiently small syste
• Fund a roll-out of batteries in all state schools
• Support solar panels and batteries for NT early childhood centres and independent schools
• Support schools operating as Virtual Power Plants

INSERT: Brief personal message about why this is so important to you.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

(Your full name and address)

-------------------------------------------------------

What else can you do to progress Solar Our Schools?

Sign and share the Open Letter.

Sign up as a Solar Our Schools Champion to get involved at a state and local level.

Donate to the campaign to Solar Our Schools.

Northern Territory White Outline Map Australia from Vector.me

Write to the Western Australia Minister for Education and Training asking her to work in partnership with the federal government to support funding and remove barriers to Solar Our Schools.

You can cut and paste the templates below and customise it where indicated. Or write your own letter.

Email your letter to: [email protected]

Please also bcc our Volunteer Director [email protected]

-------------------------------------------------------

The Hon Sue Ellery MP, Minister for Education and Training

Level 13, Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, 

WEST PERTH WA 6005

Dear Minister,

RE Solar Infrastructure for Schools & Early Learning Centres

INSERT: Brief specific info — how many children you have, where you live and why you are worried about their future due to climate change.

I am writing to you to congratulate your government's recent pre-election announcement to fund a $44.6 million Schools Clean Energy Technology package, and further ask the Western Australian State Government to work in partnership with the Federal Government to support Solar Our Schools: a COVID-19 recovery initiative that would see solar panels and batteries in all schools and early childhood centres across Australia. 

This excellent economic investment will:

• Create many thousands of regional and local jobs
• Save schools and early childhood centres thousands of dollars per year to put towards educational resources
• Immediately reduce carbon emissions

I am one of more than 11,000 parents nationwide who have signed Australian Parents for Climate Action's open letter to the Prime Minister calling for Federal support for Solar Our Schools.

Western Australia has made good progress in installing solar and batteries on some state schools, but there is still a large number of schools without solar or with insufficient solar, and many more without batteries. Many Western Australian early childhood centres and independent schools find the financial and administrative burden too great to access solar or batteries.

Installing solar panels in a distributed way across the rooftops of early childhood centres and schools allows them to generate solar for their operations, saving them many thousands of dollars in electricity bills, which can be put towards teaching and learning resources.

INSERT: Brief information about your own kids' school/preschools and whether they have solar. Why would solar (or more solar) and batteries be good for your school/preschool?

What's exciting about coupling solar with batteries is that it unlocks the ability of schools and early childhood centres to become Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) — allowing them to trade their excess solar power with the community via an energy market operator. 

Homes like mine in the surrounding area can choose to buy dispatchable energy from school VPPs, enabling the school to earn money to put towards learning resources. This will also stabilize the grid during peak demand events. Schools are closed during most peak demand events — weekends, evenings and school holidays.

Enabling every Australian school and early childhood centre to act as VPPs would provide also 1000 megawatts of dispatchable power into the electricity grid — the equivalent of the Liddell coal-fired power plant.

Importantly, allowing schools to act as VPPs also enables their surrounding communities to have a resilient local power source and emergency safe haven, which is increasingly important in regional areas as we face climate-related big weather events.

I ask that you commit to working with the Federal Government to:

• Fund solar panels for state schools, who do not yet have solar or who have an insufficiently small system
• Fund a roll-out of batteries in all state schools
• Support solar panels and batteries for WA early childhood centres and independent schools
• Support schools operating as Virtual Power Plants

INSERT: Brief personal message about why this is so important to you.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

(Your full name and address)

-------------------------------------------------------

What else can you do to progress Solar Our Schools?

Sign and share the Open Letter.

Sign up as a Solar Our Schools Champion to get involved at a state and local level.

Donate to the campaign to Solar Our Schools.

Western Australia Outline from Vector.me

Write to the Victorian Minister for Education asking him to work in partnership with the federal government to support funding and remove barriers to Solar Our Schools.

You can cut and paste the template below and customise it where indicated. Or write your own letter.

Email your letter to: [email protected]

Please also bcc our Volunteer Director [email protected]

-------------------------------------------------------

The Hon James Merlino MP Minister for Education

GPO Box 4367 Melbourne Vic 3001

Dear Minister,

RE Solar Infrastructure for Schools & Early Learning Centres

INSERT: Brief specific info — how many children you have, where you live and why you are worried about their future due to climate change.

I am writing to ask the Victorian State Government to work in partnership with the Federal Government to support Solar Our Schools: a COVID-19 recovery initiative that would see solar panels and batteries in all schools and early childhood centres across Australia. 

This excellent economic investment will:

• Create many thousands of regional and local jobs
• Save schools and early childhood centres thousands of dollars per year to put towards educational resources
• Immediately reduce carbon emissions

I am one of more than 11,000 parents nationwide who have signed Australian Parents for Climate Action's open letter to the Prime Minister calling for Federal support for Solar Our Schools.

We welcome the Victorian Government’s recent announcement of 600MW of renewable energy to be sourced from wind and solar farms in order to power Victoria’s state schools, hospitals and trains. 

Providing solar and batteries to schools directly is a great opportunity to further bolster renewable energy take-up. There are still many Victorian state schools without solar or with insufficient solar, and none with batteries. Many Victorian early childhood centres and independent schools find the financial and administrative burden too great to access solar or batteries. Installing solar panels in a distributed way across the rooftops of early childhood centres and schools allows them to generate solar for their operations, saving them many thousands of dollars in electricity bills, which can be put towards teaching and learning resources.

INSERT: Brief information about your own kids' school/preschools and whether they have solar. Why would solar (or more solar) and batteries be good for your school/preschool?

What's exciting about coupling solar with batteries is that it unlocks the ability of schools and early childhood centres to become Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) — allowing them to trade their excess solar power with the community via an energy market operator. 

Homes like mine in the surrounding area can choose to buy dispatchable energy from school VPPs, enabling the school to earn money to put towards learning resources. This will also stabilize the grid during peak demand events. Schools are closed during most peak demand events — weekends, evenings and school holidays.

Enabling every Australian school and early childhood centre to act as VPPs would provide also 1000 megawatts of dispatchable power into the electricity grid — the equivalent of the Liddell coal-fired power plant.

Importantly, allowing schools to act as VPPs also enables their surrounding communities to have a resilient local power source and emergency safe haven, which is increasingly important in regional areas as we face climate-related big weather events.

I ask that you commit to working with the Federal Government to:

• Fund solar panels for state schools, who do not yet have solar or who have an insufficiently small system
• Fund a roll-out of batteries in all state schools
• Support solar panels and batteries for Victorian early childhood centres and independent schools
• Support schools operating as Virtual Power Plants

INSERT: Brief personal message about why this is so important to you.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

(Your full name and address)

-------------------------------------------------------

What else can you do to progress Solar Our Schools?

Sign and share the Open Letter.

Sign up as a Solar Our Schools Champion to get involved at a state and local level.

Donate to the campaign to Solar Our Schools.

Victoria Map Outline Australia State from Vector.me 

Write to the South Australian Minister for Education asking him to work in partnership with the federal government to support funding and remove barriers to Solar Our Schools.

You can cut and paste the template below and customise it where indicated. Or write your own letter.

Email your letter to: [email protected]

Please also bcc our Volunteer Director [email protected]

-------------------------------------------------------

The Hon John Gardner MP, Minister for Education
GPO Box 1563 Adelaide SA 5001

Dear Minister,

RE Solar Infrastructure for Schools & Early Learning Centres

INSERT: Brief specific info — how many children you have, where you live and why you are worried about their future due to climate change.

I am writing to ask the South Australian State Government to work in partnership with the Federal Government to support Solar Our Schools: a COVID-19 recovery initiative that would see solar panels and batteries in all schools and early childhood centres across Australia. 

This excellent economic investment will:

• Create many thousands of regional and local jobs
• Save schools and early childhood centres thousands of dollars per year to put towards educational resources
• Immediately reduce carbon emissions

I am one of more than 11,000 parents nationwide who have signed Australian Parents for Climate Action's open letter to the Prime Minister calling for Federal support for Solar Our Schools.

South Australia has made good progress in installing solar on state schools, but there is still a large number of schools without solar or with insufficient solar, and none with batteries. Many SA early childhood centres and independent schools find the financial and administrative burden too great to access solar or batteries.

Installing solar panels in a distributed way across the rooftops of early childhood centres and schools allows them to generate solar for their operations, saving them many thousands of dollars in electricity bills, which can be put towards teaching and learning resources.

INSERT: Brief information about your own kids' school/preschools and whether they have solar. Why would solar (or more solar) and batteries be good for your school/preschool

What's exciting about coupling solar with batteries is that it unlocks the ability of schools and early childhood centres to become Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) — allowing them to trade their excess solar power with the community via an energy market operator. 

Homes like mine in the surrounding area can choose to buy dispatchable energy from school VPPs, enabling the school to earn money to put towards learning resources. This will also stabilize the grid during peak demand events. Schools are closed during most peak demand events — weekends, evenings and school holidays.

Enabling every Australian school and early childhood centre to act as VPPs would provide also 1000 megawatts of dispatchable power into the electricity grid — the equivalent of the Liddell coal-fired power plant.

Importantly, allowing schools to act as VPPs also enables their surrounding communities to have a resilient local power source and emergency safe haven, which is increasingly important in regional areas as we face climate-related big weather events.

I ask that you commit to working with the Federal Government to:

• Fund solar panels for state schools, who do not yet have solar or who have an insufficiently small system
• Fund a roll-out of batteries in all state schools
• Support solar panels and batteries for SA early childhood centres and independent schools
• Support schools operating as Virtual Power Plants

INSERT: Brief personal message about why this is so important to you.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

(Your full name and address)

-------------------------------------------------------

What else can you do to progress Solar Our Schools?

Sign and share the Open Letter.

Sign up as a Solar Our Schools Champion to get involved at a state and local level.

Donate to the campaign to Solar Our Schools.

Geography Australia Map South Coastline from Vector.me

Write to the Tasmanian Minister for Education and Training asking him to work in partnership with the federal government to support funding and remove barriers to Solar Our Schools.

You can cut and paste the template below and customise it where indicated. Or write your own letter.

Email your letter to: jeremy.rockliff@parliament.tas.gov.au

Please also bcc our Volunteer Director [email protected]

-------------------------------------------------------

The Hon Jeremy Rockliff MP, Minister for Education and Training
Level 10, 15 Murray Street Hobart Tas 7000

Dear Minister,

RE Solar Infrastructure for Schools & Early Learning Centres

INSERT: Brief specific info — how many children you have, where you live and why you are worried about their future due to climate change.

I am writing to ask the Tasmanian State Government to work in partnership with the Federal Government to support Solar Our Schools: a COVID-19 recovery initiative that would see solar panels and batteries in all schools and early childhood centres across Australia. 

This excellent economic investment will:

• Create many thousands of regional and local jobs
• Save schools and early childhood centres thousands of dollars per year to put towards educational resources
• Immediately reduce carbon emissions

I am one of more than 12,000 parents nationwide who have signed Australian Parents for Climate Action's open letter to the Prime Minister calling for Federal support for Solar Our Schools.

We congratulate you for implementing the $5m Renewable Energy Schools Fund in 2021. Tasmania has no current programs for installing batteries on state schools. There are still many Tasmanian state schools without solar or with insufficient solar, and many early childhood centres and independent schools find the financial and administrative burden too great to access solar or batteries.

Installing solar panels in a distributed way across the rooftops of early childhood centres and all schools allows them to generate solar for their operations, saving them many thousands of dollars in electricity bills, which can be put towards teaching and learning resources.

INSERT: Brief information about your own kids' school/preschools and whether they have solar. Why would solar (or more solar) and batteries be good for your school/preschool?

What's exciting about coupling solar with batteries is that it unlocks the ability of schools and early childhood centres to become Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) — allowing them to trade their excess solar power with the community via an energy market operator. 

Homes like mine in the surrounding area can choose to buy dispatchable energy from school VPPs, enabling the school to earn money to put towards learning resources. This will also stabilize the grid during peak demand events. Schools are closed during most peak demand events — weekends, evenings and school holidays.

Enabling every Australian school and early childhood centre to act as VPPs would provide also 1000 megawatts of dispatchable power into the electricity grid — the equivalent of the Liddell coal-fired power plant.

Importantly, allowing schools to act as VPPs also enables their surrounding communities to have a resilient local power source and emergency safe haven, which is increasingly important in regional areas as we face climate-related big weather events.

I ask that you commit to working with the Federal Government to:

• Fund solar panels for all state schools, who do not yet have solar or who have an insufficiently small system
• Fund a roll-out of batteries in all state schools
• Support solar panels and batteries for Tasmanian early childhood centres and independent schools
• Support schools operating as Virtual Power Plants

INSERT: Brief personal message about why this is so important to you.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely

(Your full name and address)

-------------------------------------------------------

What else can you do to progress Solar Our Schools?

Sign and share the Open Letter.

Sign up as a Solar Our Schools Champion to get involved at a state and local level.

Donate to the campaign to Solar Our Schools.

Image: Tasmania Outline White Map Australia from Vector.me

MEDIA RELEASE - 7TH OCTOBER 2020

Opportunity missed for a Green Recovery

Australian parents asking for a safer future for their children have been ignored in this Federal Budget, saying a key opportunity has been badly missed for a green recovery from Covid-19 that also addresses the dire climate threat.

More than 10,000 parents sent a loud message to the Federal Government in the lead up to the Federal Budget that they want investment in renewable energy, in the form of an innovative initiative Solar Our Schools, which would see solar and batteries put on all schools and early childhood centres. 

But the government has instead chosen to invest in a gas-led recovery, embedding its relationship with the fossil fuel industry.