Students of schools within the Blacktown Solar City project area can participate in the Energy Saver Competition. Schools submit their participating students' entry forms which show the total amount of household electricity saved by them and their families during the competition period compared to the same billing period last year. Schools can win based on either the total percentage of energy saved or on the total percentage of school students participating in the competition. The winning schools will each receive a state-of-the-art Fourier Weather Science Station.

How do you get started?

Nominate your school to participate by completing the online School nomination form and your school will be contacted by the Blacktown Solar City project team to get started. Your school then needs to nominate an Energy Saver Champion to collate and record all student entries.

IMPORTANT: Anyone can complete the nomination form although once your school is nominated there is no need to nominate it again. If you are not sure if your school has already been nominated for the competition please complete the form anyway. The Blacktown Solar City project team will ensure your school is involved and will let you know who to contact if your school has already been nominated.

How do you participate?

• Participants just save energy at home over the competition period. The competition commences 1 April 2008 and ends on 30 September 2008. No entries will be accepted after 4:30pm on 7 October 2008.
• Ensure your school is nominated.
• Get as many students participating in the competition for your opportunity to win in Categories 3 and 4 (listed below).
• There must be at least 30 students making up each school entry.
• Use the hints and tips including the posters, cartoons and energy saving suggestions which you can download from the Resources page to encourage student participation and help you encourage family members to get involved.
• The Energy Saver Champion will collect a copy of one electricity bill with an attached entry form from each eligible participating student during the competition period. Bills should show the amount of energy saved during this billing period compared to the equivalent billing period of the previous year. Ensure you have your parents' or legal guardian's consent to use your bill.
• The savings calculated must be against the same billing period in the previous year and must be for the same residential address as the previous year's bill. The residential address must be the same address at which you reside during the relevant period. If you reside at more than one address, then you must nominate which address you will submit for this competition. Students can only submit one quarterly electricity bill (or three consecutive bills if billed monthly) that falls within the competition period.
• The Energy Saver Champion adds up the total energy consumed for all eligible participating students and then completes and submits the online entry form by the due date.

Prior to the winners being announced a short list of finalists will be validated by members of the Blacktown Solar City project team. The project team will view all finalists' entry forms to confirm that the school's submitted total is accurate. In the event of a tie, the entry that contains the most original and thoughtful energy-saving story will win.

The winning schools for each category below will be announced at the Blacktown Solar City School Science Fair to be held in October 2008.

Categories

Category 1: One prize will go to the primary school with the largest total percentage of energy savings when compared with the same period in the previous year.
Category 2: One prize will go to the secondary school with the largest total percentage of energy savings when compared with the same period in the previous year.
Category 3: One prize will go to the primary school with highest total percentage of school students participating.
Category 4: One prize will go to the secondary school with highest total percentage of school students participating.

Timeline

Start to End of Possible Billing Period: 1 April 2008 through to 30 September 2008.
Entry Date: Entries may be submitted up to 4:30pm on 7 October 2008. No entries will be accepted after this time.
Winner Announced: Blacktown Solar City Science Fair October 2008.

Energy Saver Champion Role

• The Energy Saver Champion collates all the submitted entries and electricity bills, calculates the total energy savings and submits their school's entry.
• The Energy Saver Champion also needs to safely store the energy bills until the end of the competition in order for the winning entries to be validated by the Blacktown Solar City project team. Once the competition ends the entries can be returned to the students or destroyed.

The Energy Saver Champion can be a teacher or the student body. If a school nomination is received by a student then the Blacktown Solar City project team will coordinate with the school to confirm who will be the Energy Saver Champion for that school.

Eligible students should seek permission from their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) before downloading any competition materials.

Click here for full competition terms and conditions.

Resources

School Nomination Form
Entry Form
Terms and Conditions of Entry
Important Information about Copyright

Privacy

Any information provided by entrants will be used by BP Solar Pty Ltd for the purpose of conducting each competition. BP Solar may disclose entrants' personal information to members of the Blacktown Solar City Consortium, contractors and agents to assist in conducting each competition. BP Solar is bound by the National Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Entrants may request access to personal information held by BP Solar or obtain a copy of BP Solar's privacy policy by visiting Blacktown Solar City's Privacy statement.