Barwon Water, Victoria’s largest regional urban water corporation serving the Geelong and Colac areas, has announced its complete transition to 100% renewable energy.
Barwon Water: Providing Water Services to 320,000+ Residents
Barwon Water provides water services to over 320,000 permanent residents—a number that swells to 545,000 during peak holiday seasons. Its service area covers the City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliffe, Surf Coast Shire, Colac-Otway Shire, and part of the Golden Plains Shire. This region includes the Bellarine Peninsula, extending north to Ballan and west to Colac, Lorne, and Apollo Bay.
Barwon Water’s Renewable Energy Initiatives and Achievements
Barwon Water’s water and sewerage facilities consume over 30 GWh of electricity annually—equivalent to the power used by 6,000 households. The corporation set its 100% renewables goal back in 2016, aligning with the Victorian water sector’s broader objective to use entirely renewable energy by 2025. Since then, Barwon Water has developed a range of innovative projects and now generates about 65 GWh of electricity annually from roughly 25 MW of renewable capacity.
Notable projects include the 3 MW Black Rock solar farm, Australia’s first megawatt-scale solar installation in the water industry. Other key assets include the 300 kW Wurdee Boluc solar and battery array, which covers about 40% of the water treatment plant’s annual electricity needs; the 240 kW Torquay solar array at the local water storage facility; and the 80 kW Kadak depot solar array in Breakwater.
Another significant project, the Colac Renewable Organics Network (RON), transforms organic waste from the Australian Lamb Company and Bulla Dairy Foods into renewable electricity and heat. This allows the local water reclamation plant to operate entirely on renewable energy.
Barwon Water’s Commitment to Renewable Energy
To source additional renewable electricity, Barwon Water has formed strategic partnerships with local organizations and other water corporations. These agreements include purchasing 17 MW from the Mt Gellibrand Wind Farm through the Barwon Renewable Energy Partnership and securing power from the Kiamal Solar Farm.
Now producing more electricity than its facilities need, Barwon Water can export the surplus back to the grid, creating an additional revenue stream.
“We’re proud to achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity. It has been made possible through collaboration with our regional stakeholders and water sector peers and the support of our customers. This milestone reflects our commitment to a healthier environment and providing essential water and wastewater services in the most sustainable way possible. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, these investments are also reducing energy costs, putting downward pressure on customer bills and generating revenue from surplus electricity,” said Shaun Cumming, managing director of Barwon Water.
With this goal met, Barwon Water will now focus on its next target: achieving net-zero emissions across its operations by 2030.
“We are strongly focused on our 2030 target of achieving net-zero emissions across our operations and doing it in a way that reduces energy costs. This includes tackling direct emissions from wastewater treatment processes and transitioning to a zero-emissions vehicle fleet,” said Cumming.
