The sustainability efforts of the Lachlan Shire Council were recognised at the recent Keep Australia Beautiful NSW - 2021 Sustainable Tidy Towns Awards, where the shire took out two Tidy Towns awards. 

With Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin both committed to their own initiatives to reduce emissions and lower costs for the communities, the shire has drawn attention to their efforts. 

Lachlan Shire Mayor John Medcalf OAM congratulated his staff on the awards, with both towns working towards their own projects.



“The Tidy Towns Awards are highly contested and it is just terrific that Lachlan Shire has walked away with two awards this year… the community will reap the benefits in the future,” Mayor Medcalf said.

Acting General Manager Jon Shillito said that the improvements haven’t been the result of one project, but of a plan that includes many things to reduce emissions. 

“The idea is that we’ll be able to create what’s called a revolving energy fund, so the savings that are generated from the projects will hopefully go into creating more sustainability projects in the future,” Mr Shillito said.

In Lake Cargelligo, the council worked with the NSW Government’s Sustainable Councils and Communities (SCC) team to identify possible projects to reduce Council’s energy consumption from external providers.

The project identified that the installation of renewable energy infrastructure, reducing operational costs and carbon footprint, and offsetting energy usage would all be key to their sustainability. 

Simple fixes include lighting upgrades, sustainable buildings, and purchasing electric vehicles in the light fleet of council vehicles. 

The installation of five solar panel sets totalling 395 kilowatts was a crucial part of the plan, contributing $82,700 per annum in operational savings.

Last year’s announcement of the $9.8 million in infrastructure at Lake Cargelligo to host a hydrogen energy storage centre will also be a major contributor to the town’s footprint reduction. 

At the time, the development company Graphite CEO Peter Lemmich said the existing infrastructure is fitting for the hydrogen production with integrated thermal energy storage. 

“This project is the first stage of our redevelopment of the Lake Cargelligo facility, where we will be developing a Low Emissions Technology Precinct that will support the sustainable energy transition for agriculture, mining and industry, providing positive impacts and opportunities for Lake Cargelligo and other regional communities,” Mr Lemmich said.

Independent of the project, the Lake Cargelligo project saved nearly $960,000 through revisiting their council’s processes, as well as cut their carbon emissions and created local jobs.

Council secured $1.1 million in federal government funding through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Grant Program and immediately set to work on a program for renewable energy. 

The seven renewable projects located in Condobolin are part of a larger renewable energy program comprising 15 projects across Lachlan Shire. They were completed in June 2021 and are projected to contribute $41,700 per annum in operational savings.  

CEO of Keep Australia Beautiful Val Southam said that on their 40th year, recognising towns that are contributing to the sustainability of the state remains important. 

“This annual awards program recognises and celebrates the efforts and achievements of NSW regional towns and councils, community organisations, schools, business, and individuals that are working towards making regional NSW more sustainable. 

The council was awarded the Renewable Energy population category A (up to 1,500) award for the Lake Cargelligo project and the population category B (1,501-5,000) award for the Condobolin initiative.