General News
14 August, 2023
Greener airwaves for community radio station
Now broadcasting through greener frequencies, a Maryborough based community radio has tuned into renewable energy with the recent addition of solar panels to the station’s set up. In a move towards ensuring a more sustainable future, the...
Now broadcasting through greener frequencies, a Maryborough based community radio has tuned into renewable energy with the recent addition of solar panels to the station’s set up.
In a move towards ensuring a more sustainable future, the Goldfields FM 99.1 radio station has installed a solar power system at their transmission site — located about three kilometers away from their Community Hub head-quarters, on Centenary Hill.
Supported by the ANZ Bank, the station received a grant worth $13,000 from the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) to put up the panels.
According to Goldfields FM president Ian Fettling, the recent installation will help keep bills down.
“It does cost a lot of money to run a radio station throughout the day,” he said.
“Our equipment breaks down sometimes, there’s also the regular upkeep of computers, CD players and transmitters so we’re going to save a lot of money through solar and the saving will be beneficial for us to look after other things.
“I think it’s a really exciting prospect. It’s been in the works for probably six months and now we’ve finally got it.”
Setting up the station for success, Mr Fettling said that it was important to put relevant infrastructure in place to solidify the community radio’s future.
“We feel like we’re an important part of the region and the solar panels will ensure that the radio continues long after the current team is gone,” he said.
“It shows that Goldfields FM is here to stay and every year we seem to be able to do something that gives it that longevity.
“Our songs are going out there into radio land via the sun so there’s also a good message here for the community — they can see that we’ve gone green and that’s a really strong message to send out. It could encourage people to do the same thing.”
No longer relying on the mains power supply, the station will never go offline again, broadcasting at all times.
“One of the objectives we’ve had for some time is to make sure we are on for 24 hours a day, even if the power goes out,” the station’s production manager Dan Leddin said.
“To make that happen we’ve already purchased, at our own expense, generators that come online but solar panels are the next aspect to that.
“They’ll allow us to be on air especially in times of emergencies and that’s very important for us because during that time people might only be able to keep up with what’s going on, in a local sense, through us. Whatever the time, good or bad, we want to be available to our community.”