Several of Goulburn Valley Water's facilities in and near Shepparton are in varying stages of construction with installation of nearly 3,000 solar panels taking place on GVW land and infrastructure in the town as part of GVW’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce operating costs.

To kick off the $5.4m initiative, where panels will be installed in ten of GVW’s towns, over 2,000 panels were installed at the Wastewater Management Facility prior to Christmas, and now in the first weeks of 2020 GVW’s Shepparton Operations Centre has been a construction zone, with nearly 300 panels being installed on the Florence Street site in Shepparton.

More work is planned for Shepparton facilities, with works scheduled for the Administration Office in Fryers Street, the Sewer Pump Station on Wanganui Road, and the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) on Welsford Street, adjacent to the Shepparton Lawn Tennis Courts.

GVW Senior Project Auditor, Ray Russell, said the Welsford Street works are expected to take place in the first week of February and may impact customers while underway.

"370 panels will be installed on the western side of the WTP site, which will require use of a forklift in the Princes Park Clinic carpark area to get materials into position."

“Apologies in advance to anyone affected by this. Customers wishing to use the carpark for Princes Park Clinic, GBCMA and Wellsprings may be affected during this time, but we will try to get through it as quickly but as safely as possible.”

Any impacts on these customers are not expected to last more than a few hours.

This project is being delivered by Solgen Energy Group.

The project comes at no extra cost to customers, as it is part of the wider infrastructure program, and is expected to result in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 4,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year.

Customers are encouraged to provide feedback on this project or GVW's services on 1800 45 45 00.