New Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre to make use of geothermal energy technology

Latrobe City Council has announced that, following an $8 million loan from the Victorian Government, it is to add geothermal technology to the under construction Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre.

The loan is in addition to the $46 million in Victorian Government funding already provided for the $85 million precinct in Traralgon.

With the Gippsland Basin representing an attractive target for geothermal energy, the technology will make use of heat stored naturally within subsurface rocks to provide natural heat for the Centre’s pools.

The Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre (GRAC) will also include an eight-lane 50 metre indoor pool with 500 seats for spectators, a 25-metre outdoor pool, warm water pool, indoor water play areas, water slides, gym, geothermal heating and a wellness centre.

The Traralgon Indoor Sports Stadium will be expanded to include additional courts for netball, basketball, badminton and other indoor sports, allowing it to host large-scale events.

In developing the facility, Latrobe City Council worked with key stakeholders such as Swimming Victoria to refine the scope of the aquatics components along with a nine-person Project Reference Group (PRG), taking inspiration and learnings from comparable centres across the state.

Latrobe Valley Authority Chief Executive Karen Cain advised Traralgon was seen as one of the best places for sporting competition in swimming, commenting “having state-of-the-art equipment and competition-level architecture... is extremely important to this community.

"I think one of the aims has been, not only for our local community, but to increase visitor economy here."

Work on the $63 million is expected to commence in the coming weeks.

Backed by the Victorian Government within its sports infrastructure fund from the $266 million Hazelwood transition fund, GRAC is expected to be finished by 2020.

Click here for more information on the project.

Image of GRAC courtesy of Peddle Thorp.