Queensland

• Council actions
• Regulatory and market structure
• State developments
• Stakeholders
• Funding opportunities

Brisbane City Council
As part of its commitment to active transport Brisbane City Council has installed stand alone solar lights and cat’s eyes in six locations across the city. The project is part of Lord Mayor Campbell’s $100 million plan to increase cycling and bike safety. The lights are an example of how stand alone solar can be part of a city's public lighting.

South East Queensland council's street light technologies trial
Sunshine Coast Regional, Brisbane City, Gold Coast City, Morton Bay Regional and Ipswich City Councils, along with Energex, a major Queensland electricity distributor, and the Queensland Department of Mines and Energy, are conducting a major trial of new energy-efficient public lighting technologies. A key motivation for the trial is to investigate potential energy,  greenhouse and financial savings. Ipswich City Council, for instance, is interested in exploring ways to reduce its current streetlighting bill of more than $1.5 million per annum.

The State Developments section of this page contains a case study detailing the group and the trial.

There are two key points to note regarding the regulatory and market structure of public lighting in Queensland. The first is that full retail contestability (FRC) for public lighting exists as of 1 July 2007. For more information on FRC and its affects on regulatory and market structures, see the New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria pages (market and regulatory sections). Secondly, regulatory responsibility for street lighting is currently shared by the Department of Mines and Energy (DME) and the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA).

For an in-depth account of the regulatory and market structure in Queensland, please see Chapter 4 - Street Lighting Decision Making in Street Lighting in South East Queensland: Opportunities for Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings (E2PLWG, 2006). This Chapter discusses legislation, regulation and policies relating to the following areas of public lighting: design, installation and maintenance; street lighting tariffs, luminaire and light types; and full retail contestability. Although the report focuses on South East Queensland, much of it is applicable to the state as whole.

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Energy Efficiency Public Lighting Working Group (E2PLWG) and trial
This three-year trial, which commenced in late 2007, aims to identify an energy-efficient replacement for the common mercury vapour 50 watt street lamp.  The trial involves the selection, installation and monitoring of a number of potential replacement lamps in selected locations over the three-year period. It is intended that the trial will lead to a roll-out of a new generation of energy-efficient street lights in Queensland, resulting in a significant reduction in councils’ power use, emissions and costs.

ICLEI Oceania, with support from the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, has prepared the following resource as part of a series of case studies that focus on sustainable public lighting regional action groups. It provides details of the group's governance, key activities, major outcomes and lessons learnt.

Case study - Regional Action on Sustainable Public Lighting - E2PLWG

Background to the group
In July 2006, a one-off Energy Efficiency Public Lighting Forum was convened by the Department of Mines and Energy (DME). A key outcome of this forum was the formation of the Energy Efficient Public Lighting Working Group (E2PLWG), comprised of representatives from DME, Brisbane City Council, Gold Coast City Council, Caboolture Shire Council, Maroochy Shire Council and ENERGEX Limited. The group's aim is to progress the implementation of fit-for-purpose energy efficient street lighting products for minor roads.

In September 2006, Premier Peter Beattie made an election promise to conduct an energy-efficient street light trial in South East Queensland. Following the Beattie Government's re-election, the E2PLWG released a report, Street Lighting in South East Queensland: Opportunities for Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings (November 2006), which represented the first step in delivering this promise. This report is available for download in the Regulatory and Market Structure section of this page. It was subsequently announced that the three year energy efficient public lighting trial would go ahead.

For more information on the group or the trial see the Office of Clean Energy's website.

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Queensland Government Grants
To see what environment grants are available, use the "find by category" facility.