Electric car charging stations and landscaping will also be included in this stage.
Club CEO David Hart said the panels installed during stage one should be enough to cover most of the club’s electricity usage.
Additional panels proposed in stage two, which is yet to receive development application approval from Edward River Council, would be enough to allow for storage of power and potential re-sale of power.
Mr Hart said while development approval has been received for stage one, the club is still waiting for a construction certificate.
Preparatory works have started in anticipation, with the former car park shade sails system dismantled and stored for potential future usage.
The work is being carried out by Vellocet, which has also completed a similar project at the Moama Bowling Club.
Mr Hart said the Moama development is ‘‘impressive’’, and has heightened his excitement of this project finally moving ahead.
‘‘What they have done there at Moama, which is very similar to ours without charging stations, is so much better compared to the concept drawings we had on display in our foyer,’’ Mr Hart said.
‘‘The landscaping component is amazing, and the structural elements blend well in to the club’s surroundings.
‘‘It gives people a bit of an idea of what we’re doing here.’’
Stage one of the project is costed at between $1.6 million and $1.8 million.
Some council reserves will be used on the project, with the remainder sourced from loans.
Conservative estimates are that stage one will be ‘‘paid back’’ within 15 years.
Mr Hart said the overhaul of the car park will provide wider parking spaces for patrons, and will see the dated gardens replaced with newer landscaping.
But he said the big win will be the electricity cost saving to the club.
‘‘We would spend between $25,000 and $30,000 a month on electricity, and in this day and age we need to be proactive about our usage.
‘‘In this stage one section is 231.84 kilowatts, with whatever is produced from that being used by the club.
‘‘Our project is what is called a micro-grid model, and it will have a smart component which will alert us when solar resources might be low that will require us to go back to mains energy.
‘‘With the generator we may even be able to create energy, which we can sell back to the grid and earn income.
‘‘There may even be opportunities to sell energy to our members at a discounted rate.
‘‘We anticipate that after stage two all club facilities — including ancillary buildings like the sports complex, boxing gym and FitNow! — will all be running on solar.’’
Both the Moama and Deniliquin solar projects are designed to feed in to the Mulwala Energy Park, also being constructed by Vellocet.
Mr Hart anticipates stage one will be completed by June or July this year.
Until then, the dirt car park opposite the club’s entry driveway — next to the old ambulance station — can be utilised by members and guests, in addition to street parking.
Mr Hart was unable to provide a timeline on stage two of the project, which is still subject to development approval and negotiations with neighbouring landholders.
Stage two will look at converting the currently disused tennis courts in the adjacent RSL Sporting Complex in to another car park, with the same solar shading structures.
A battery with the capacity to store 1400kw of energy will also be created in this stage, as well as the provision of a back-up generator.
Stages one and two combined are costed at $4.5 million.
