Cricket Australia (CA) and Cricket for Climate have collaborated to install solar power at the National Cricket Centre (NCC) in Brisbane. This will save $50,000 in energy costs in the first year alone while reducing the amount of carbon generated by the facility by approximately 398 tonnes each year.
Click here to download vision of the solar panel installation at the NCC.
Based on current energy pricing, this converts close to $1 million in savings over the 20-year lifespan of the project and removing close to 8,000 tonnes of carbon.
The NCC is Australian cricket’s home of world-leading training and playing facilities accessible year-round that allow preparation in a variety of conditions, and can be used by international, national, and state teams, pathway programs and community cricket clubs.
James Allsopp, CA Executive Manager, Community and Capability joined Australian men’s captain Pat Cummins to launch the installation at the NCC today.
The system will provide a massive 285kW of power (nearly half of the NCC’s total energy requirements) and was made available through an initial provision of 60kW of solar panels (as well as mounting systems and inverters) through Cricket for Climate, with Cricket Australia investing $226,000 to provide the additional 220kW of capacity.
James Allsopp, CA Executive General Manager, Community and Capability said:
“We were delighted when Cricket for Climate approached us with an offer to provide the solar power to get the ball rolling on this project.
“We are really pleased Pat (Cummins) has taken a lead on this initiative just as he does on the field. Cricket for Climate have already created tangible benefits for some local clubs and its great they have been able to extend this to the NCC through a collaboration with Cricket Australia.”
“Climate change is an issue for cricket, and we are in the initial stages of our journey toward improved sustainability and improving our environmental footprint.
“Projects such as this, alongside the development this year of our Environmental Sustainability Action Plan that will outline our emissions baseline and our roadmap for reducing them will help us create some real momentum in this area.”
Pat Cummins, Australian men’s captain said:
“I’m proud Cricket Australia has partnered with Cricket for Climate as part of a broader ambition to drive positive change across cricket.
“Cricket is a quintessential part of the Australian summer – however, our game is vulnerable to climate change.”
“The partnership with Cricket Australia, State Associations, as well as local cricket clubs and councils is fundamental to achieving meaningful progress.
“We are also fortunate to have incredible industry partners such as Longi, Solis and OSW, who have generously donated 150kW of solar and inverter infrastructure across our projects to date.
“Through their generous donations, we’ve been able to install solar power to all club projects to date at zero cost to them. We’ve learned much in the initial phase of energy upgrades across five clubs, and that the engagement from these clubs and their councils has been amazing.
“We are looking to make further impact at scale as we look to plan a second phase of our energy upgrade program. We also want to look beyond solar and batteries for clubs and develop a blueprint for what a sustainable club of the future looks like.
“This partnership with Cricket Australia provides us with real momentum to help us achieve this.”
ABOUT CRICKET FOR CLIMATE
Started in 2021, Cricket for Climate is a collective movement that is seeing benefits and real momentum already. In collaboration with cricket clubs, renewable energy infrastructure providers, councils and broader cricket ecosystem, Cricket for Climate so far has:
- Installed 83kw of solar and batteries in 5 Cricket Clubs across NSW valued at over $150k at no cost to the clubs. This will save clubs thousands of dollars a year in electricity costs and is estimated to reduce their carbon emissions by 116 tonnes per annum.
- Partnered with Cricket Australia to install a 285kW solar system at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. The largest project to date, this solar system is expected to save $50,000 in energy costs in the first year alone and reduce the facilities carbon emissions by 398 tonnes per year.
- Donated 400 large scale energy efficient fridges valued at over $565K to more than 200 cricket clubs across NSW. Many clubs are using aged white goods that drain energy in increase electricity costs.
- Held a Cricket for Climate Summit in July 2022 bringing together Cricket administration, players, other sporting bodies, government, athletes, cricket sponsors, corporate Australia and climate experts to learn, collaborate and pledge to drive impact on reducing crickets carbon footprint.
- Inspired by the Cricket for Climate movement, South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has developed a Sustainability Group and action plan involving players (Harry Conway, Bridget Patterson and David Grant) and staff and have reduced their carbon emissions by 34 tonnes in the last 10 months implementing through waste management systems and recycling programs.
- Supported the Smart Energy Council’s Renewable Energy delegation to India during the Test series earlier last year to strengthen trade relations for renewable investment in Australia.
Cricket for Climate’s ambition is to build on this solid foundation and get as many of the 3,700 cricket clubs as possible (and Australian Cricket) to net zero through carbon reduction and nature positive solutions, whilst providing economic benefits to local clubs and communities.
Cricket for Climate is a player-led movement. The following players have personally contributed financially to the installation of solar at their junior or grade clubs at approx. $3-5k per player.
- Pat Cummins – Penrith Cricket Club (10kw Solar)
- Josh Hazlewood – Tamworth Cricket Club (10kW Solar)
- Moises Henriques – a St George Cricket Club (13.3kW Solar)
- Rachael Haynes and Alyssa Healy – Sydney Cricket Club (40Kw Solar and Battery)
- Nathan Lyon – Northern District Cricket Club (10kW Solar)
Cricket for Climate is moving into a second phase of maturity with the appointment of our inaugural CEO Joanne Bowen on 22 January.
Joanne is a passionate environmental leader, radical collaborator and designer of collective net zero solutions. She is no stranger to Cricket for Climate, working alongside Cricket for Climate since inception in January 2022 to scale our ambition, co-design our strategy and activate our collective movement.
Joanne is known locally and internationally for her work with the B-Team Australasia’s Climate Leaders Coalition, where she worked with leading CEOs to design innovative net zero solutions. These include practical steps to address scope 3 emissions through value chain collaboration and digital accelerators for nature positive outcomes.