We are delighted to welcome Dr Helen Haines, Independent Federal MP for Indi, who will present the Local Power Plan she has developed: a vision to create a viable community energy sector throughout Australia. Dr Haines will outline the benefits this Plan could bring to local communities such as Healesville and to local community energy groups such as Healesville CoRE. We are delighted to announce that this event will be opened by our Mayor, Cr Fiona McAllister who will also introduce Dr Helen Haines! Helen will be followed by the Directors of Komo Energy, Gerald Arends and Jonathan Prendergast who will update us with the latest info on the Healesville Microgrid concept they are working on with Healesville CoRE. Komo Energy is our new technical partner. Join from the comfort of your own home as this is an online event. Don’t miss out, save the date. Communities Wanting to Invest in their own Solar Infrastructure: Community Power Hubs! With the massive decentralization of Australia’s electricity supply system that is currently in process, we are seeing a revolution in how electricity is produced, stored and delivered across the country. With regions and communities increasing their uptake of solar, and with increasing numbers of home, neighbourhood and community batteries being installed, there is now a much greater interest in how communities can be more involved at a local level – how communities might even own some of the medium scale infrastructure such as solar farms, community batteries, solar car parks etc. There are now well over 100 community energy groups around Australia, all working to increase local installations of solar and to support their own communities to save on energy bills and to retain money in the local communities. Here at Healesville CoRE we have been advocating since our inception that we need many more community energy groups and that these groups need to be organized at a regional level with funding from government to support the great work these groups are doing. All these community energy groups need administrative, technical and professional support as what they seek to achieve is far too much for volunteers to do without this additional support. Fortunately, this support is now about to happen! The Victorian Government recently announced grants of between $448,000 and $857,000 to fund up to six Community Power Hubs in Victoria’s Regions, including a Community Power Hub in the Melbourne Region, in which Healesville is located. In the eastern, north eastern and south eastern suburbs of Melbourne there are at least 9 community energy groups, including Healesville CoRE, with 8 currently active. Healesville CoRE is well placed to take on a role in establishing a Community Power Hub to serve these groups in the Yarra Valley and throughout the eastern and outer eastern suburbs. By creating a governance structure that includes a collective or collaborative approach, all the groups could jointly take advantage of funding and economies of scale and the sharing of administrative, professional and technical expertise, to significantly ramp up the installation of renewable energy in their local communities. This is what the Victorian Government funding seeks to achieve. This community development work could also include significant investment by the community in local infrastructure such as medium scale solar farms and community or neighbourhood batteries. Some community energy groups are already doing this, with locals earning a return on their investment from the production and / or storage of community renewable energy. This can increase as electricity supply moves from centralized to a more distributed model. There is also the great initiative being taken by Dr Helen Haines, the Independent Federal MP for Indi, who has introduced her Australian Local Power Agency Bill to the Federal Parliament, which if it is passed, will see a significant increase in the funding of community energy groups around Australia, not just in Victoria. This is designed to release $483 million into regional communities to enable up to 20% ownership in community power installations. See here for further information: https://reneweconomy.com.au/haines-proposes-483m-local-power-agency-to-help-communities-buy-in-to-wind-and-solar/ You will want to come and hear Dr Helen Haines speak at our 19 June event, which you will want to mark in your calendar now. This is not to be missed. Maybe Healesville CoRE could become a Regional Community Power Hub funded by both Federal and State Governments in a collective enterprise that will benefit all our local communities! |
