It’s believed the club is one of the first in NSW to be self-sustaining thanks to a huge number of upgrades.

Works have included a new unisex shower block catering for the sharp rise in women’s football, alongside a new kitchen with all-new appliances and lighting, security lighting, doors and windows, but also access and fitout upgrades. 

The club has also installed a new first aid room, which includes a defibrillator in case of emergencies. 

However, one of the key upgrades has been a 12kW solar system on the roof that will power the facilities and hopefully cover ongoing maintenance costs. 

“I feel extremely proud to be part of this community project. I think this a really good example of what can be done and potentially a template for other community groups,” club treasurer David Howard said.

The club reached $20,000 in local fundraising last week to go ahead with the installation and club president Greg Coman thanked the community for its generous support; “this project will benefit all Lawrence Park users”.

Clean Energy For Eternity has worked in partnership with the club to finalise the solar installation. 

“When David phoned to ask whether CEFE could assist with solar for the building at Lawrence Park, we jumped at the chance,” CEFE project manager Prue Kelly said.

“We had been hoping to put solar on this facility for quite a while and suddenly having such enthusiastic support from the SCAFL club itself was fantastic.”

She said it had been a pleasure for the group to work with Mr Howard and Mr Coman and said Lawrence Park could now be an example to other sporting clubs to cut their electricity costs and help protect the environment. 

Ben Scales from Sunny Afternoons said the system was incredibly adaptable and intelligent, with users able to monitor their usage via an app as well as seeing power generation and any errors reported from the individual solar cells. 

Mr Scales said the grid would produce nearly 17,000kW hours of energy for the club, but was also future-proof with the ability to attach a solar battery at a later date. 

To celebrate the progress on the works – with the solar grid expected to go live next week – the Sea Eagles will host an afternoon tea during its final home round this Saturday, August 11. \

Tathra will hold three senior games at Lawrence Park on Saturday with the reserves from 11.50am, ladies at 1.10 and seniors at 2.30pm.