Aussie Power Project Turns Social Housing Tenants Into Sun Worshipers

a solar panel strapped onto a terra cotta tile roof
Solar Panel photo by Marufish is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Dismissing a useful future for social housing these days works most dramatically when raising the spectre of high rise projects. President Trump, as part of his 2020 campaign, has most notably done just that, claiming credit for regulations that spare suburban housewives from the horrors of new crime-riddled high rises popping up in the midst of single family suburbs.

Neglected by these attitudes are visions of social housing as scatterings of single family dwellings, which do not dominate neighbourhoods as high rises do. Single family social housing has its own drawbacks, but also its own benefits.

In New South Wales, single family social housing has been “greened” by installing solar panels on the roofs. Currently, this enhancement is directly benefiting the occupants, who are not only supporting energy-saving climate change measures but also receiving a much-appreciated boost to their very limited incomes.

Aboriginal housing is one of the beneficiaries of this government initiative, which may be of interest to other jurisdictions looking to meet a requirement for energy-efficient non-high rise structures in remote and/or small community settings.

Read more on benefits and limitations of solar panels on social housing structures at the ABC: NSW Government solar panel project for social housing providing financial freedom to regional pensioners