The market for large-scale renewable energy projects may well be at a standstill in Australia, but at the community level, things are happening quickly. Dozens of projects have emerged as state governments tap into local ideas, offering grants for innovative projects that allow solar and other renewables to be developed at a local level, for […]
Six community energy projects in northern NSW have been awarded grants by the NSW government – including a range of solar, bio-gas and mini-hydro projects, and including one to take a whole village of 300 people off grid with renewables. They are among 19 groups to share some $846,000 in the latest round of funding […]
Byron Shire – in the northern rivers region of New South Wales – is aiming to become the first region in Australia to become “net zero emissions”, with a goal to reduce emissions from energy, transport, buildings, waste and land use to zero within 10 years. The push by Byron mayor Simon Richardson means that […]
A NSW community renewable energy group has won a $50,000 state government grant to investigate the feasibility of building what would be Australia’s largest community-owned solar project – a 1MW solar farm in the southern tablelands city of Goulburn. One of 19 recipients to share in a $846,000 round of funding from the NSW Office […]
Development groups Lend Lease and LandCorp are to pioneer a major community-level battery storage pilot that could change the way that residential communities source energy, including not being connected to the grid. The pilot project at Alkimos Beach, a sustainable community develop in the northern suburbs of Perth, will include 1.1MWh of lithium ion battery […]
Byron shire is to become the first council in Australia to trial “virtual net metering” in what could presage a dramatic change in the way electricity is produced, but also in the role that networks play in the distribution of that electricity. Virtual net metering – also known as peer-to-peer trading – allows the excess […]
Yet another local government group has taken Australia’s renewable energy task into its own hands, with the mid-north coast NSW Coffs Harbour City Council committing to a renewable energy target of 100 per cent by 2030. The move puts Coffs Harbour City on the same page as fellow NSW local governments, like Lismore, which last […]
In the wake of Tropical Cyclones Olwyn and Pam – the devastating 250km/h winds of the latter resulting in Vanuatu’s ‘worst natural disaster in living memory’ – we are reminded of how vulnerable centralised electricity grids are to increasingly intense extreme weather events. In Australia, the category three Cyclone Olwyn tore through the WA towns […]
Another Bass Strait island is set to begin the shift to renewables, with Hydro Tasmania confirming it would soon start developing a “hybrid energy hub” combining wind, solar and storage on Flinders Island – an off-grid community 54 kilometres off Tasmania’s north east coast. Hydro Tasmania, which has had great success with a similar project […]
The outback town Coober Pedy in remote South Australia will be able to turn off its fossil fuel generators for at least half of the year under a proposed solar-wind-battery hybrid model to be built by the town’s main electricity supplier. Coober Pedy – known as the Opal Capital of Australia – was last year […]
The rapid change in the way electricity is delivered to customers is about to be highlighted by a new project that will see a new housing estate built without being connected to the grid. The idea has the support of the government of South Australia, a state which already sources 40 per cent of its […]
Byron Shire – in the northern rivers region of New South Wales – is aiming to become the first region in Australia to become “net zero emissions”, with a goal to reduce emissions from energy, transport, buildings, waste and land use to zero within 10 years. The push by Byron mayor Simon Richardson means that […]
One of Australia’s largest untapped solar PV markets – the 1.8 million vacant rooftops estimated to belong to the residential rental market – is being targeted by a Sydney-based solar group, which says the time is right for property investors to start benefiting from solar savings. Prepaid Solar, whose Prepaid Meter utility technology is already […]
The Lismore City Council is looking to a range of innovative measures – including community funding for a large scale solar project, a type of consumer retailing model, and an ambitious energy efficiency program as part of its plan to go 100 per cent renewable by 2023. As we reported last week, Lismore – in […]
We’re an average family doing everyday things. The only difference between your morning and ours is that you’re probably pulling your power from the grid. We’re not. Let me tell you about my morning. I got up, turned the bathroom light and fan on, had a shower, dried my hair and then used the straightening […]
