FREMANTLE council considered having one of its properties removed completely from the electricity grid as a condition of sale to developers.

Mayor Brad Pettitt says the council wants to retire its works depot at the corner of Montreal and Knutsford streets and turn it into a sustainability demonstration site as part of the precinct’s transformation into a mixed-use estate.

“We looked at going off the grid, but we found the technology isn’t quite there yet,” Dr Pettitt told the Herald.

Instead, the council is working with LandCorp, which owns the old museum storage site next door, to mandate a minimum 8-star energy rating across both sites.

Dr Pettitt says there have been similar carbon-neutral developments in the eastern states and overseas, but it would be the first in WA: “It was a good opportunity to work with LandCorp, because if it works well here, it can be a model they can apply across the city,” Dr Pettitt says.

He says the sustainability measures will push up costs, but buyers will win in the long run. “When you buy into this development, you will never have a power bill.”

by STEVE GRANT