Help us go ‘green’
With the rising cost of living, inflation and price increases for essential items and services, we are doing it tough!
In 2022, Teen Challenge SA spent around $33,000 on electricity. Our electricity supplier recently sent a notification of price increases, meaning this yearly cost will grow to around $40,000 in 2023. Energy prices are expected to continue to grow for the foreseeable future.
We spoke to several companies about recommendations for solar energy solutions to combat growing electricity costs. As a result, Teen Challenge SA plans to purchase and install a solar battery system at our Strathalbyn rehabilitation facility.
While expensive, the recommended solution for solar and battery from a local South Australian company provides the best future-proofing opportunity for the site. As more renewables enter the market, infrastructure provider SA Power Networks has indicated that it may limit or stop export from solar systems to the grid to reduce network burden. There may even be a time when users are charged for exporting. Solar feed-in tariffs paid by retailers continue to decline. With uncertainty around the future of exports, utilising battery storage to maximise solar use for Teen Challenge SA makes sense.
A battery system will help future-proof Teen Challenge SA against export restrictions and place us in a good position to take advantage of further technology changes as they come about. For example, in the future, we may have the capacity to earn a higher income from generated power by including the batteries in virtual power plants that sell power to the grid at times of peak demand across the state.
These savings will enable us to dedicate less money to overheads and program costs and allocate more life-saving funds to our students to see them set free from life-controlling issues.
It is well-known that solar has many environmental benefits, including producing no emissions. God tasked humanity with taking care of the earth and being good stewards. Implementing a solar battery system at our Strathalbyn site will help Teen Challenge SA fulfil God’s command to steward his creation responsibly.
The system is expected to save Teen Challenge SA an estimated $26,000 a year on electricity costs, with an average saving over 10 years of $33,000 per year (based on increasing electricity costs alone). These savings will enable us to dedicate less money to overheads and program costs and allocate more life-saving funds to our students to see them set free from life-controlling issues.
‘In all the time I have been its CEO, Teen Challenge SA has never had lots of money in the bank’, says Graham Ross. ‘We, therefore, have had to diligently manage our funds donated by you, our faithful financial supporters, never taking anything for granted and valuing every cent. We are daily reminded of our responsibility to be good stewards of what the Lord has given us through you!’