Work has begun on a $25 million upgrade at the South Lismore Sewage Treatment Plant in New South Wales that will increase the plant’s capacity and include the installation of an on-site solar farm.
Lismore Deputy Mayor, Gianpiero Battista, said the upgrade will transform the 80-year-old plant into a modern facility with an increased capacity of 45 per cent. It also aims to improve environmental impacts with the installation of the new 334kW solar farm.
“We are really excited that we can generate up to 60 per cent of our electricity from an on-site solar farm. This farm will be the largest on the Northern Rivers and it is definitely the way of the future for powering public infrastructure,” Mr Battista said.
At present the South Lismore Sewage Treatment Plant can service around 15,000 people. The upgraded plant will be able to service 22,500 people, catering for expected population increases including growth on the western side of the city due to the North Lismore Plateau.
“The technology we will use to build the plant is a far cry from what we had back in the 1930s and the proposed design will provide high quality treated sewage as well as optimise chemical usage and power consumption,” Mr Battista said.
