Sustainability
Delivering Australia’s first 'Carbon Positive' island resort
As outlined in the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009, climate change is one of the most serious issues affecting the long term survival of the Great Barrier Reef. The cornerstone of the GKI Resort will be a significant commitment to the use of renewable energy by embracing one of Australia’s most significant natural resources – its abundant sunshine.
The Plan sets an ambitious target in its sustainability initiatives which will provide a model for future tourism projects to begin to address the issue of climate change.
ARUP Engineers (a world leading firm of sustainability engineers) has concluded that the GKI Resort can achieve its target of being Australia’s first carbon positive island resort through the installation of over 24,000 solar panels on the rooftops of the tourism accommodation.
In total the solar panels will generate over 12,400 megawatt hours of clean renewable energy each year.
The Resort will therefore generate more green power than it can use, allowing additional energy to be fed back to the mainland through a submarine cable. Through this activity, additional green energy will be fed back into the grid for the benefit of all Central Queensland residents.
Proposed solar power concept
