“Australia has seen a massive uptake of rooftop solar, from 8,000 systems in 2008 to over 2.55 million in 2020. That is wonderful if you are fortunate enough to have a suitable roof, but anyone without a suitable roof is unfortunately denied access to this cheaper, cleaner energy,” said the co-op’s chair, Kate Cook, in a letter ahead of the share offering.
“Energy Democracy’s vision is to enable wider participation in the renewable energy revolution that is now underway. The Co-operative model supports a local approach while collaborating with others to leverage initiatives that deliver cheaper power and reduce our impact on the environment.”
The NSW government’s director of energy programs, Arianwyn Lowe, said in a statement on Monday that the benefits of the Orange solar and battery project would extend beyond the members of the co-op to the broader community.
“The Orange Community Renewable Energy Park project provides indirect economic benefits of medium-scale solar PV deployment to regional economies via growth in the number of local solar PV installers and suppliers, opportunities for local electricians, and local economic expenditure and employment for the life of the plant,” Lowe said.
For ITP Development, the Orange community project is part of a portfolio of 25 small utility-scale solar developments being developed by the group across NSW and Victoria that will generate renewable electricity close to the demand load in regional areas.
“This helps to diversify the NSW electricity sector from large scale renewable energy projects,” said ITPD portfolio manager Mishka Talent.
“In addition, the inclusion of battery energy storage to complement variable output from the solar and the community
ownership via a co-operative as a new business model makes this project innovative – technically and commercially.”
Energy Democracy, meanwhile, has three more co-operatives in the pipeline in Australia and New Zealand, including Horsham in Victoria and Mallala in South Australia. To join the Central West NSW co-op, click here.