Sydney Harbour Green Precincts Project - Final Report – October 2011
Final Report
Sydney Harbour Green Precincts Project
Introduction
Green Precincts Fund
The Sydney Harbour Green Precincts Project has focussed predominantly on two aspects
of sustainability: energy savings and water savings.
On Cockatoo Island the intention was to blend and display a wide range of contemporary
harvesting technologies with the existing heritage fabric. This contrast was believed to be
the best way to highlight and showcase the systems to be installed. It was also decided to
install these technologies in prominent locations to make them more visible to the island’s
visitors.
At North Head the Green Precincts Fund has provided the Trust with the opportunity to
expand its vision and enhance the visitor experience by creating a showcase green precinct
within the Sanctuary.
Combined, these two sites have provided a unique practical opportunity to widely
demonstrate the water and energy saving features of the Green Precinct Fund Project at,
arguably, two of Sydney’s most spectacular and publicly accessible locations.
Two Locations - One Purpose
Both Cockatoo Island and North Head Sanctuary are unique ‘urban parks’ that are open to
the public.
Cockatoo Island has a rich and dramatic post settlement history spanning more than 175
years. It is the largest island in Sydney Harbour and for most of the 20th century it was
Australia’s largest Dock Yard. It is now one of several World Heritage listed convict sites
(added in 2010) and has a high, public profile.
The Biennale of Sydney attracted over 157 000 people to the island between June and
September 2010. It was a major venue of the 2009 Sydney Festival. The opening of a
camp ground in 2008 attracted significant media interest and served to underline the site as
a landmark harbour attraction. Occupation figures have increased steadily since this time
and are expected to reach 20 000 this year.
Cockatoo Island’s buildings and facilities are in considerable demand for corporate
functions, launches, filming and educational excursions. The island has featured dozens of
times in the mainstream media this last year. It has hosted several music festivals
(including Sydney Festival’s ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ curated by Nick Cave) and art festivals
(including the Biennale of Sydney) as well as numerous corporate functions
North Head is one of Sydney's iconic headlands. The Trust is developing an ecological
sanctuary at the former School of Artillery, which is now attracting large numbers of
recreational walkers and educational tour groups since the opening in 2007 of the
Gatehouse Visitor Centre and scenic walking tracks through the site.
The Sanctuary’s unique cultural and natural values are well interpreted both on-site and
'virtually'. It has been used by a number of television production companies for the shooting
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Sydney Harbour Green Precincts Project - Final Report – October 2011
of long running television programs. Two of the buildings recently occupied by The Biggest
Loser series (production sets) have the PV arrays on their roofs. The electrically used by
these production sets was off-set by the electricity generated by the PV generators.
North Head has a rich history as a strategic location for Defence of Sydney fortifications
spanning from 1864 – 2011. The Army History Unit, having recently moved their Artillery
Museum from North Fort to Pukapunyal, have handed over the former WWII North Fort to
the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust for incorporation into the Sanctuary. The headland
now has five land managers including: the Quarantine Station; Sydney Water’s sewer
treatment plant; the Australian Institute of Police Management; Sydney Harbour National
Park; and the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust. The Trust is responsible for the former
School of Artillery, now known as North Head Sanctuary.
In addition to its military heritage, the site also has an important plant assemblage of
endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub and an endangered community of long nosed
bandicoots. These natural values have largely driven the concept and function of the Green
Precincts Fund project at North Head.
Summary of Outcomes
Combined, both sites are well on the way to saving more than 160 MWh of electricity and
20 Ml of potable water per annum. This equates to saving more than 190 tonnes of CO²
emissions.
The Cockatoo Island photovoltaic (PV) array has been generating electricity since
November 2010 and, having already delivered 68 MWh, is on target to deliver more than
100 MWh in its first year of operation.
Likewise, North Head PV arrays have been generating electricity since August 2010 and
are also well on the way to delivering 60 MWh in their first year.
In addition to the generation of renewable energy, both sites have substantially reduced
their energy consumption through the installation and retrofit of energy efficient equipment
and fittings in a number of buildings and precincts. These include a large building that
provides conference space for upward of 300 people, holiday units that can accommodate
more than 30 people and offices capable of accommodating more than 100 people per day
Cockatoo Island’s rainwater systems are currently saving in excess of 2 Ml of potable water
by supplying most of the island’s toilets and urinals with harvested water.
The island’s stormwater system has been designed to save in excess of 8 Ml by supplying
water for the remaining toilet cisterns and irrigating the northern and the eastern aprons, as
well as the plateau.
North Fort’s rainwater system was completed in April 2011 and has been delivering
harvested water to a public toilet block and an on site café. This system has been
expanded to also irrigate most of the grassed areas of the North Fort precinct.
The stormwater system at the Parade Ground precinct was completed in May 2011 and
now delivers recycled water to the toilets of six buildings including: a military barracks
building; an officers’ mess; a sergeants’ mess; and several office buildings. These buildings
are capable of accommodating several hundred people per day. This system also provides
extensive landscape irrigation for the whole of the ‘cultural’ landscapes through a 1.5 km
long ring-main.
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In addition, a number of buildings have been retrofitted with water saving fittings enabling
both Cockatoo Island and North Head to be used as high profile demonstration sites.
Outcomes at Cockatoo Island
The PV array at Cockatoo Island has been providing electricity (NET to the grid) well in
excess of both consumption and predicted savings (more than 68 MWh in the first 7.5
months since practical completion in November 2010). The annual production from the
system will exceed 100 MWh (the equivalent to powering over fifteen average homes for
twelve months) which equates to an annual saving of 110 Tonnes of CO2 emissions.
A computer and large television monitor have been installed in the Turbine Shop - a
convenient public location - and are providing an interactive public information display
about the PV generator and its performance in real-time, suitable for a wide audience.
A ‘cheat sheet’ has been prepared for the volunteer guides and teachers to aid in
communicating the benefits of the project to the island’s visitors including school groups
and the general community.
Eight rainwater harvesting schemes have now been fully completed. These are spread
across the Southern Apron and the Plateau precincts where the large roof expanses of the
industrial buildings there yield the highest volumes of harvestable rainwater. In addition,
each of these systems demonstrate different ways of capturing roof water. Tanks of varying
size, according to the harvestable areas, have been installed. On one building, bladders
have been installed under an existing decked area, fully concealing them. The stormwater
harvesting component capturing water run-off from a mainly landscaped 12 000 square
metre area, has also now been completed. This system is unique in that it has been
installed above ground, below the capture area, to best demonstrate its operation and
function. Together, both harvesting systems will deliver in excess of the 10 Ml of the
savings predicted.
Water meters have been installed on all systems and water savings are being monitored.
Interpretive signage has been installed on all systems.
Synopsis of deliverables:

one of the largest metropolitan PV arrays in Sydney, installed on the Turbine Shop
roof, alongside an elevated steel walkway on the Convict Trail walking track

an assortment of adaptively reused buildings (including holiday accommodation) with
energy saving fixtures and fittings

eight rainwater harvesting schemes of different sizes, demonstrating the various
ways to harvest water, from a wide range of roofs and building types, across the
island

a stormwater harvesting scheme near Slipway 1 demonstrating its capacity to harvest
large volumes of water to an existing 1.4 Ml tank

public toilets with waterless urinals and WELS rated tap fittings

signage and television display monitors interpreting these features.
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Outcomes at North Head Sanctuary
Both rainwater and stormwater harvesting systems were completed in April 2011 and May
2011 respectively and are already delivering substantial water savings.
The two PV arrays at North Head are producing electricity (NET to the grid) in excess of
both consumption and predicted savings (60MWh/annum).
Interpretive signage has been erected around both the water and the PV systems.
The stormwater system has been substantially expanded to include a 1.5 km ring-main to
irrigate the whole of the cultural landscapes (including a bandicoot habitat) of the Parade
Ground precinct. This will provide water savings well in excess of those predicted. At
capacity, the stormwater treatment plant is capable of recycling up to 94.6 ML of water a
year; this is almost equivalent to 38 Olympic size swimming pools worth of water.
This stormwater system has also been provided with a unique detention basin to reduce
stormwater impact on the adjoining Sydney Harbour National Park. This detention basin
contains a wetland that aids in reducing nutrients and exotic seed removal/stripping of the
heavy intermittent flows. It will provide the Sanctuary with a state-of-the-art demonstration
model of water sensitive urban design. Its prominent location is intended to show the many
visitors to the site a live model demonstrating best practice.
A large computer driven television monitor has been installed at the visitor centre - a
convenient public location - which likewise provides an interactive public information display
suitable to a wide audience.
Synopsis of Deliverables:

two grid connected PV arrays on prominent buildings alongside the self-guided tour
trail

an assortment of adaptively reused buildings (including offices) with energy saving
fixtures and fittings

a rainwater scheme demonstrating the various ways to harvest water from the roofs
of two ‘Defence of Sydney’ gun display sheds

a stormwater scheme near one of the site’s prominent entry points to demonstrate
the capacity to harvest large volumes of water that supply most of the site’s toilets
and supports the foraging habitat for the endangered bandicoot community

a public cafe with WELS rated fittings

signage and a television display monitor at the busy information centre to interpret
the features.
Community Engagement across both sites
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Educational materials will be published early in the second half of 2011. The Sustainability
section of the Trust’s website is currently in development and is expected to go live late
2011. This website will showcase all aspects of the Green Precincts Fund Project and be
cross-linked to other sites specifically targeting tenants as well as providing information to
members of the general public.
Large computer driven television monitors have been installed at convenient public
locations at both sites to provide an interactive public information display suitable to a wide
audience. Members of the public can access various levels of information, including
technical information, simply by pressing a button on the display, which they are
encouraged to do.
Several tours have been conducted around both the water and energy saving projects at
Cockatoo Island. Among these was the Ecoforum Conference, Eco Tour. In excess of 550
people participated in the Ecoforum 2011 and the ‘Green Precincts’ tour of Cockatoo Island
was reported as a highlight.
The Cockatoo Island PV installation featured on the cover page of EcoGeneration
Magazine – issue 61 Nov/Dec 2010 and included a full colour two page article with photos.
It also featured in episodes of the 2011 The Biggest Loser television program, parts of
which were shot on the island.
Most especially, the PV array featured strongly when more than six million people watched
the first episodes of Masterchef Australia (producers of this show were specifically required
to feature the island’s PV generator in their licence agreement).
Tens of thousands of people have visited Cockatoo Island to attend functions, explore the
many attractions and walk its Convict Trail walking track where both the water harvesting
and the PV arrays are prominently displayed and signposted. Hundreds of people take the
self guided walking tour every week and hundreds more school children attend the
numerous excursions that are guided by both the Trust’s volunteer guides as well as their
teachers. Both guides and teachers explain the benefits of the Green Precincts Fund
Project using resources provided by the Harbour Trust.
The Trust intends to collaborate with Hunters Hill, Mosman and Manly Councils to publicise
the Sydney Harbour Green Precincts Project.
Brochures targeted at visiting schools are scheduled to be developed by the end of 2011.
Parliamentary Secretary for Urban Water and Sustainability, Senator the Hon. Don Farrell,
officially opened the Sydney Harbour Green Precincts Project on 30 May 2011.
Given the spectacular location of the two sites and the value placed on harbour foreshore
land, the projects have captured public interest and sparked media attention. The water and
energy efficiency features have provided a high profile showcase of how these measures
can be applied to public, civic, institutional, commercial office and residential precincts in a
manner sympathetic to their heritage values.
Tour groups include local, regional, national and international visitors to the sites. Varied
programs and events on the sites include: events for senior citizens; music and art
concerts; festivals for young people; events and guided tours for families; school education
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programs for primary and secondary students; and projects and excursions for university
students.
Community Involvement
The North Head Sanctuary Foundation is operating a native plant nursery on site.
Consistent with the NSW State Government’s Recovery Plan (ecological restoration of the
rare and endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub), seeds are collected from plants of
local provenance and propagated at North Head. The plant nursery has been included in
the extensive water harvesting reticulation network. The foundation has an active education
outreach program delivering interpretation of the sites natural values at a prominent
location on the headlands self guided walking trail.
The water and energy conservation benefits of this project are a natural fit with the
sanctuary’s ecological objectives. All of the revegetation and regeneration activities and
planted areas are maintained through the irrigation network of the stormwater harvesting
system which itself is an active demonstration of the Green Precincts Fund concept.
Media Coverage
The Trust distributed a media release to local and metropolitan newspapers to announce
the Sydney Harbour Green Precinct Project.
Senator Farrell officially acknowledged the project on 30 May 2011 and a media release
was distributed with information about the project and encouraging people to visit the sites.
Media Monitors has estimated that media coverage of the Trust sites over March – June
2011 has equated to approximately $3.1 million in advertising costs. Cockatoo Island in
particular has gained high profile media coverage in local, national and international
newspapers and magazines due to the numerous public launches and significant cultural
events recently staged there.
Visitor displays and information sheets
Both Cockatoo Island and North Head are highly visible and readily accessible to the
public, which has allowed each site to become a high profile and informative demonstration
site. Information panels have been placed at each of the sites detailing: general project
information; design schematics and pictures; information on how the water saving
measures and solar panels work; how much energy and water is saved and what this
means in dollar cost savings; and direct environmental benefits, such as the reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions.
Signage
Signs have been placed at the project sites. They provide a summary of the project and
refer people to the website and visitor information centre for more information.
Education/Public Programs
The works undertaken at each site will be integrated into the current school education
programs. Resource materials have been developed to complement school visits and the
Sydney Harbour Green Precinct Project will be integrated into these materials in simple
terms for teachers to explain the project’s features to students. Stickers with “Save Water”
and “Save Energy” mottos and promoting the project will be distributed to school children
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as a reminder of their learning about the project. It is hoped that these stickers will spark
conversations about their visit to the site, with their parents.
Website
Information prepared for visitor displays and brochures is also being placed on the Trust’s
and adjoining Councils websites. The Trust recorded approximately 235 000 visitors to the
Cockatoo Island website www.cockatooisland.gov.au in the 2010–11 financial year.
Newsletter
The Trust currently distributes a bi-monthly e-newsletter to its mailing list of approximately
10 500 people.
Volunteers/Tours
The Harbour Trust visitor centres are staffed by volunteers who have been briefed about
the projects and are available to answer any visitor questions. The Sydney Harbour Green
Precinct Project has been incorporated into the existing Harbour Trust site tours.
Meetings with the Community Advisory Committees and other Stakeholder Groups
Project updates have been reported at regular stakeholder meetings. The Trust has 65
community representatives including local, state and federal Members of Parliament on its
Community Advisory Committee. The Trust also has regular meetings with other
stakeholder groups such as: Friends of Cockatoo Island, the North Head Sanctuary
Foundation, the Headland Preservation Group and local sporting groups. These groups
have strong links and networks with the broader community and provide information about
the project to a wider community base.
The high volume of visitors at these sites ensure that the potential for these sites to
demonstrate the benefits of the project is maximised. Constructing inspirational
environmental projects on heritage sites will create positive experiences and positive
attitudes to achieve change at personal and community level.
In addition to the Trust’s strategy as outlined above, Mosman Council is promoting this
project in parallel with its own Water Savings Action Plan.
Estimated numbers of people exposed to the projects annually include:
 8 500 000 through local and national media coverage
 500 000 visitors to the sites
 200 000 new hits to the Trust’s website
 8 000 subscribers to the e-newsletter
 1 500 community stakeholder group members
 200 Harbour Trust volunteers
 65 Community Advisory Committee Members.
Budget/Funding:
The Sydney Harbour Green Precincts Project total cost exceeded $1.75 million.
The Australian Government, through the Green Precincts Fund provided $861 500 in funding
for the project.
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Future Steps
Work to be undertaken
Defects identified in the works undertaken are yet to be rectified. These will be progressively
attended to during the contract defects liability periods.
Promotional activities
Events are continuously held at both Cockatoo Island and North Head and are scheduled
many months into the future. The updating of the Trust’s websites and self guided walking trail
brochures also provide information to visitors.
Community engagement program
Some elements of the community uptake activities involve adjoining local government bodies.
The Trust’s sustainability strategy involves several other projects related to both energy and
water savings that have synergy with a number of council projects. Hence the Green Precincts
Fund Project will be an ongoing part of the bigger picture. The Trust is also considering
undertaking joint initiatives with its tenants and this may include expanding both PV arrays
and reticulation of non-potable water from a larger scale stormwater harvesting scheme.
Lessons Learnt
Due to the highly competitive nature of the current renewable energy industry, the
procurement of the Cockatoo Island photovoltaic generator benefited from breaking the tender
process into two elements. Going out for expressions of interest to the market enabled preassessment to be conducted on the field of respondents. This, in turn, enabled a select
(design and construct) tender process to be followed as a second stage. The tight
performance specification produced by Access UTS yielded respondents with very high
quality standards which in turn has resulted in an installation of exceptional durability and
unmatched performance warranties; an altogether pleasing outcome, delivered well below
budget.
At North Head it was discovered, during construction of the water saving project, that there
was a continuous flow from an aquifer entering the stormwater system. The rate of flow was
significant enough to warrant extension of the reticulation network to irrigate many acres of
‘cultural landscape’ and thereby improve the foraging habitat of the Sanctuary’s endangered
community of long nosed bandicoots. But this extra flow of water had a negative impact on the
flows at a point immediately above the Sydney Harbour National Park. In order to ameliorate
this, stormwater detention was added to the scheme which has the added benefit of providing
a more comprehensive model of best practice for the Sydney Harbour Green Precincts
Project.
In all, the whole Sydney Harbour Green Precincts Project has involved six Requests for
Tenders and nine Requests for Quotations processes. The budgets set for Project
Management and Project Administration were grossly inadequate considering the time
intensive nature of these processes. In addition to this, the level and frequency of reporting
was also seriously underestimated.
Most importantly, however, is the fact that both energy and water savings are well in excess of
those originally predicted.
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Acknowledgements
The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust wish to acknowledge:

The Green Precincts Fund of the Australian Government for their $861 500 grant towards
the Sydney Harbour Green Precincts Project.

The University of Technology for their advice and expertise in Photovoltaic Arrays.

The following contractors:
o Solgen Energy for the Cockatoo Island PV installation.
o M & W Zander and Solar Shop for the North Head PV installation.
o Roseville Plumbing for the Cockatoo Island rainwater installation.
o Prime Water for installation of both the North Head rainwater and stormwater
systems and the Cockatoo Island stormwater system.
Technical Details
680 Solgen Energy has designed and installed one of Sydney’s biggest photovoltaic arrays
at Cockatoo Island.
Technical Facts:
1. The 65 kW grid connected photovoltaic array designed by Solgen Energy comprises
216 SCHOTT Solar 300 watt Double Glass modules and six SMA SMC10000TL
inverters. Taking into consideration the existing skylights of the building, the array
encompasses over 680 square meters.
2. The annual production from the system will exceed 100 MWh (the equivalent to
powering over fifteen average homes for twelve months) which equates to an annual
saving of 110 Tonnes of CO2 emissions.
3. Solgen Energy is a distributor of SCHOTT solar products and is the first company to
roll out their Solar Double Glass Modules manufactured in Germany.
4. SCHOTT Solar’s advanced double glass photovoltaic technology is capable of
withstanding extremely harsh environments such as the marine environment at
Cockatoo Island. The double glass results in increased durability of the solar panels,
particularly in a marine environment. The modules have a 30 year performance
guarantee.
Prime Water Australia Pty Ltd has installed a stormwater harvesting system with a water
treatment plant and recycled stormwater ring main at North Head Sanctuary. The 1500m
long ring main supplies captured, filtered, and non-chemically disinfected water around the
site, with multiple connection points to services such as irrigation and amenities.
Technical Facts:
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1. Stormwater is captured through a Gross Pollutant Trap (Rocla CDS 0708) into a 107
000 L underground concrete tank with overflow going through a custom designed
surcharge pit and detention basin capable of delaying approximately 0.5 ML of water.
This prevents excessive stormwater discharge into the adjacent national park during
significant storm events.
2. Two, 2000 L interior storage tanks provide buffer capacity which feed two duty
standby Grundfos CR5-10, each rated to supply 1.5 L/s to the ring main.
3. The plant filters the water by passing it through a 24” x 72” automatic backwashing
filter. This lowers the turbidity (cloudiness) and removes particulates down to five
micron.
4. Two additional polishing filters guarantee a suitable water quality for a National
Sanitation Foundation Standard 55 UV filter which is rated to a flow of up to 180 L per
minute. This 103 cm long UV system provides a safe and effective means of making
water safe by removing possible microbial contamination.
5. The plant is controlled by a Program Logic Controller with Human Machine Interface
with internet connection allowing onsite and remote monitoring of the system. State
of the art variable speed drives provide the capability of ramping up and down the
pumps to meet demand and to conserve energy usage.
6. In the event of drought or system maintenance the plant is backed up by mains water
ensuring that any downstream water requirements are met.
7. At capacity, the plant is capable of recycling up to 94.6 ML of water a year. This is
equivalent to 38 Olympic size swimming pools of water.
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