Waste, energy and water
How a clean power switch is still paying off 6 years later.
A power purchase agreement (PPA) is a long-term contract to buy electricity directly from a renewable energy generator at an agreed price, rather than buying on the open market.
The 10-year deal has proven more beneficial than we anticipated. From 2020 to 2026, we’ve saved around $8 million in electricity costs compared to a traditional electricity contract.
Opting for a long-term deal – 10 years – helped us save substantially in a volatile electricity market. And the price certainty helps us manage our cash flow better.
We also save money through load matching – timing our purchases to match supply. We buy most of our electricity from our wind farm partner, since we use the most power at night, when wind generation is highest.
Pricing depends on 2 things: the spot price (the price of electricity on the open market at that moment) and a ceiling price (the maximum we'll pay, even if the spot price goes higher). Here's how it works:
Our electricity retailer sources renewable electricity from 3 different generators, all based in regional NSW: Sapphire Wind Farm near Glen Innes, Bomen Solar Farm near Wagga Wagga and Shoalhaven Community Solar Farm. Even though we’re not physically getting renewable electricity from the generators, the electricity market works like we are.
Some organisations setting up PPAs choose to deal directly with renewable electricity generators instead of a broker or retailer. But we chose to work with an electricity retailer because of its expertise in the field and it looks after many of the technical (and riskier) details on our behalf.
Street lights. Even though we’ve switched to LEDs and considerably reduced energy use, street lighting is still our single biggest category user.
We’re exploring ways to use less energy through new technologies, monitoring and equipment upgrades. We’re also looking at:
Published 8 September 2026, updated 9 September 2026
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