Sovereign Hill is the open-air museum in Ballarat that tells the story of the gold rush. Its 20-year master plan, led by Grimshaw and launched in 2020, covers the Golden Point and Narmbool sites.
→ Net-Zero
Buildings get fabric upgrades and heat pumps, every gas connection is removed, and rooftop solar powers the site. More rainwater is collected and treated for drinking, wastewater is reused, and a small anaerobic digester turns organic waste into heat, electricity and fertiliser. Nothing goes to landfill.
→ Net-Producer: Ballarat
At the Elsworth Street site, a waste-to-energy plant and a water treatment plant take in Ballarat’s food waste and wastewater and send back electricity, heat, fertiliser and clean drinking water.
→ Net-Producer: Wind forestry
Next to it, 5MW of wind turbines stand within sustainable forestry, generating power, storing carbon and growing timber for Sovereign Hill’s own operations.
We set the environmental roadmap in two stages: first net zero on site, with no gas, 100% renewable energy, water neutral and zero waste; then net producer, with 5 MW of solar alongside farming and 5 MW of wind alongside forestry at Narmbool, a digester for Ballarat's food waste, and a plant treating the city's wastewater back to drinking standard.
