A new interactive platform launched by Whakatāne District Council will publicly showcase the results from its ongoing energy management programme. This energy management programme was introduced after an audit in 2018 identified approximately 26 percent of Council emissions were attributed to electricity and natural gas use, with 11 specific Council sites and facilities contributing to the majority of the Council’s energy use. The programme is run in collaboration with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and Council’s energy management contractor, EMSOL.
Whakatāne District Council’s Strategic Coordinator for Climate Change, Katri Harmoinen, says the new online platform is another example of Council’s commitment to its Climate Change Strategy, and specifically the Energy and Leadership and Collaboration Action Plans.
“We’ve committed to build community awareness about matters relating to climate change, including the Council’s response,” Ms Harmoinen explains. “This online platform does exactly that, emphasising our leadership in the climate change space. It demonstrates the Council’s accountability to the Whakatāne District communities and to the delivery of our action plans.”
The new platform allows users to:
- See the cumulative energy, carbon and energy savings achieved through the programme
- Focus specifically on five facilities of interest – the Whakatāne Aquatic and Fitness Centre, the Civic Centre, Te Whare Taonga o Taketake, Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi and the Whakatāne Water Treatment Plant.
Ms Harmoinen says the energy management programme has allowed the Council to implement significant changes, which will be evident in the online resource.
“The programme identifies issues, which we’ve then been able to assess and mitigate in most situations. We then have the ability to monitor the success of any implemented changes and make further adjustments if necessary,” she says. “Some of the key changes behind these reductions include prioritising the use of electric heat pumps over natural gas boilers at the Whakatāne Aquatic Centre, better optimisation of the heating and ventilation systems at the Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre and the Whakatāne Museum and Research Centre. Changes across the board have resulted in carbon reduction savings equivalent to the average annual carbon footprint of 81 New Zealanders .”