A bulk-buy community solar initiative that aims to provide access to lower-cost solar systems to locals from the state’s South Coast region was launched on Tuesday, and is seeking expressions of interest.
The scheme is being coordinated by the South Coast Health and Sustainability Alliance (SHASA), a not-for- profit group based in Eurobodalla, which received funding from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) for in-depth research into solar solutions.
The group says the offer to invest in the solar bulk buy is open to anyone in the community, ranging from households to schools, businesses, and NGOs.
“We have been actively negotiating a bulk buy discount for quality solar systems at the best price and with the best local installers,” SHASA said in a statement.
“We have done all the research to give peace of mind and make sure people get good quality systems from reputable local installers at a discounted price.”
SHASA’s Paul Dolphin said that the group had so far gathered 100 sign ups in the first week of launching. “It’s now open for everyone to get involved,” he said.
To participate in the bulk buy, interested parties can visit the website and fill out a non-binding expression of interest form.
The scheme will be open for three months until the end of August.
A similar bulk-buy approach was also applied in the Central Victorian shire of Mount Alexander and led to the installation of 225 solar systems.
Stage two of the Mount Alexander Solar Homes project (MASH2), organised by the not-for-profit Hub Foundation, was launched in June 2015, in the hope of attracting another 150 Shire households to the lower-cost, pre-approved solar PV systems.
The MASH scheme, however, offered extra incentive to participants, with the promise to install two free solar systems on community organisations after 100 MASH 2 systems had gone on rooftops.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
