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The resource suggestions below come from the Chair of the Coalition for Community Energy, Heather Smith.
Given the critical importance of climate change action, renewable energy is not a specialised area: everyone has a role in reducing our immediate impact, and electrification is the readily available tool to move forward with reducing our emissions. Hence we are sharing the information and resources contained. Judy Schwarzman Secretary and David Blore, President, Benalla Sustainable Future Group Information from Online Meeting of the Coalition for Community Energy, 31st October 2024 Guest Speaker: 'Local Government Energy Upgrades - Supporting Residents in the Energy Transition' - Donna Luckman, Merri-bek City Council - Donna's talk and slides. (Also posted it and the links below on the forum.) Indigo Power - Molly and Heath. Molly can be contacted on [email protected] if you are interested in resources or marketing materials to support groups with their new groups offer - $100 reward for each customer sign up. It comes alongside some new rates with great prices for non-solar customers who can use up excellent solar soak. Congratulations on signing the 7 new community batteries with ARENA, sites are all listed in the GoogleDoc. Climate Ready Hume Newsletter - Louisa Marston [email protected] can be contacted if you want to be on the Climate Ready Hume Newsletter and you are not already. Some links shared and namedropping that occurred from meeting -
Venus Bay community is giving a talk about their resilience work at an Essential Energy webinar on 4th Dec (5:30?) Coalition for Community Energy eNews, please sign up here. Heather Smith Chair, Coalition for Community Energy M 0417 862 206 E [email protected] W www.c4ce.net.au
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Join Electrify Wangaratta at the Wangaratta Performing Arts & Convention Centre at 2pm Sunday 13 October for an exciting event focused on making homes more energy-efficient! Learn how to optimize your home to reduce your energy bills and increase year-round comfort. This is an interactive, informative session includes:
Please register at https://events.humanitix.com/go-electric-slash-your-energy-bills  A number of BSFG members participated in the 'Take Control of your Energy Bills' webinar livestreamed at Benalla Library and online in June, leaving enthused and with new low cost ideas for creating a cozy winter home without emptying their wallets. If you would like to watch or rewatch the webinar or share it with family or friends, you can find a recording of the webinar on YouTube: Resources recommended to complement the session include :
It was most enjoyable being with like minded others in the Benalla Library and watching the webinar on the new screening equipment donated by Friends of the Benalla Library. Thank you FOBL! For more information and to keep up with future webinars and grants, contact Louisa Marston Community and Partnerships Program Officer Hume Region | Regions, Environment, Climate Action and First Peoples | Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action E: [email protected] Both Kevin and David have been attending Community Energy Network bi-monthly meetings - these are an excellent information source on this fast moving topic.
One of our main interests is Community Batteries. While the engineering need is straight forward, sadly the politics of our totally privatised system make it impossible for Community Batteries to actually benefit the Community - they are, of course very beneficial to the likes of Ausnet! There is much movement to change the rules and tariff structures to enable a fairer system - strongly opposed by those benefitting from the current system! REB organised an electric vehicle for Benalla drivers to have access to an extended driving experience which was enthusiastically taken up. We know of at least one local EV recently purchased. Benalla will need more EV charging points. We have also been looking at ways to encourage more and better use of PV and Batteries. We hope to expand a current pilot trial to Benalla for more economical use of Heat Pump hot water and PV. There is currently strong pressure to start subsidising behind the meter Batteries (perhaps drop the PV subsidy seeing they are now so cheap), which would be very beneficial to everyone. There is a proposal to extend our revolving fund (kindergartens) PV installation to the new Men’s Shed complex if we can sort out the metering complexity. Kevin Smith ENGIE recently released the following information through its mailing list - "As you may be aware, ENGIE recently acquired the Goorambat East Solar Farm project from Neoen. Early investigative works are underway, with construction of the solar farm expected to begin in the second half of this year. The ENGIE team are keen to meet with the local community, have a chat about the project and answer any questions you might have. Community drop-in sessions Pop into the Goorambat Hall at any stage during the times below Thursday 23rd May 6.30pm - 9pm Friday 24th May 9.30am - 12pm The Goorambat and District Community Group will be catering for each session so be sure to grab a bite to eat while you're there. Not able to make it to one of the sessions above? Find us at the Goorambat Recreation Reserve on Saturday 15th June for round 11, Goorambat v Bright. Contact us - If you have any questions about the Goorambat East Solar Farm project, please reach out to us via our toll-free phone number 1800 845 067 or email [email protected] " For more information go to https://engie.com.au/about-us/our-generation-activities/solar-farms/goorambat-solar-farm
 "Peter Holmes giving the thumbs-up to his EV driving experience" Feedback from early test drives in our loaned Electric Vehicle At the BSFG meeting in May last year, Russell Klose of Kilowatt Cars demonstrated and spoke on EVs, and offered BSFG a loan vehicle for members and friends to be able to experience an EV through an "extended test drive". David and Kevin followed up with Russell and picked up his Nissan Leaf in January to bring to Benalla. So far we have had around half a dozen members and friends try the car, some taking it for an overnight test and experiencing the home charging task. The list of interested people is around 20 and growing, so if you're interested you will need to get in quick before it is returned to Russell in the next couple of weeks!
A quick sample of comments so far from our testers include:- On the positive side:
A few downsides were noted:
The model Leaf supplied by Russell is the one with a 40 kwh battery, with a nominal range of 240 km. There is also a model with a 60 kwh size battery with a commensurately larger range. Range is greatly affected by speed, terrain and (less so) use of aircon, lights and other features. For those interested, V2L is a feature some EVs have which allows the vehicle battery to be used to power the home. Since a Tesla home battery is around 11-12 kwh, the advantage of having an EV with this capability is obvious, and examples occurred in the recent Qld flood power blackouts where EVs were used to power home-based medical devices (reports in The Age and Guardian)!" David Blore 0407885410 Have you heard about the Footprint Project?' The mission of this tiny US nonprofit is to 'provide cleaner energy for communities in crisis'. Footprint's 'footprint' is visible after earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornados — and even in Ukraine — as it brings solar microgrid power to those in need. The portable microgrids developed by the Footprint Project proved their worth during Hurricane Ida in August 2021 and are now supported by Schneider Electric and Microsoft. The background to the development of the Footprint project and later partnership between Footprint, Schneider Electric and Microsoft is spelt out in an article on the Microsoft website 'A unique form of hope - Tiny Nonprofit Footprint Project is bringing cleaner energy to disaster response'. The Footprint Project made the Time 'Best Inventions List' of 2022 - Footprint Project Microgrids: The 200 Best Inventions of 2022 leading to an excellent article, 'Mobile microgrids by Footprint and Schneider make Time’s best inventions list', the reading of which inspired this post! With a well established branch in Sydney Road, Benalla, Schneider Electric's logo/motto is Life is On, the O has vertical slash, as per symbol for on/off switch. The Schneider Electric (Australia) website has a list or downloadable reports in pdf including 'Operating, Maintaining and Optimizing Microgrids' (2023) 'Resilient - Delivering exceptional resilience for extraordinary health care" (2022). There's a pdf download 'Schneider Electric - Our New World of Energy' Interested in finding out more about microgrids generally? Microgrid Knowledge is a website full of resources. Reference manuals in downloadable pdf format include 'Handbook on Microgrids for Power Quality and Connectivity' published by the Asian Development Bank; and the 'Microgrid Conceptual Design Handbook 2022' a publication of the Energy Transitions Project, US Department of Energy. Malcolm McCullough's book 'Downtime on the Microgrid: Architecture, Electricity and Smart City Islands' published in 2020 by MIT and subtitled 'a human-centered account of why the future of electricity is local', is my next port of call. It's frustrating that we don't seem to be making progress with microgrids in Australia. But some people are! Peter Maddock 17 January 2024 Footnote - a quick search for 'mobile microgrids' in Australia came up with 'hybrid' products -
You may remember that in March this year, Russell Klose from Kilowatt cars visited Benalla and gave a presentation to BSFG about Electric Vehicles.
Renewable Energy Benalla (part of BSFG) will be taking up Russell's kind offer of an Electric Vehicle on loan in the new year. This will allow members to have an extended test drive, see how and if an Electric Vehicle could suit your needs, and directly address questions you may have such as range and charging. The car (a 40 kWh Nissan Leaf) will be on loan for a week or two in January (exact times to be confirmed) and will be garaged in Benalla for that time. If you are interested in having an extended test drive, please email David Blore (BSFG Vice President) at [email protected] for bookings. Intending borrowers will also need to provide licence details and a phone number for making arrangements. Judy Schwarzman Secretary, BSFG Notes of Meeting With Indigo Power, at Beechworth
Present: Donald Mace (Indigo Power), Kevin Smith & David Blore (Renewable Energy Benalla) Date: Tuesday 20 June 2023 The meeting was arranged as a follow-up to Donald's presentation to the BSFG AGM on 25 May 2023. Donald outlined current work and involvement of Indigo Power (IP) on community energy projects especially community energy batteries. He advised that IP had been successful in the first round of Commonwealth funding for a community battery for Yarra Junction. He also outlined upcoming government grants for community batteries, noting that IP was developing submissions for a number of projects (10-12 bids), with strong business cases for each. He commented that the work required to develop a strong business case and submission was extensive; not many community groups were able to address the detailed submission requirements from his experience. (A message for us in regard to the effort required.) Donald also outlined possibilities being considered under Round 3 of the Victorian Neighbourhood Battery grant program, including a possible community battery in Benalla. BRCC is part of the suite of possibilities being considered as a member of the "Central Victoria Greenhouse Alliance" a grouping of Councils including existing groups such as the "Goulburn Murray Greenhouse Alliance". The Benalla project could entail a community behind-the-meter battery (with/without EV charging) at the former Civic Centre, now the Library. Presumably this battery would be charged from existing solar panels on the Library - and the Senior Citizens (?). We pointed out that the Library only has limited evening operating hours but the Senior Cits is used on a number of nights, thus gaining direct benefits from the battery. We discussed possibilities for inclusion of EV charging: Donald advised that these units (at $60,000 - 70,000 to install, depending on charging rate) could be added at cost. Both the siting of any EV chargers and the battery would be subject to finding a suitable flood-free site (i.e. not under the Library!). Chargers are usually located in nose-in car parking spaces: we mentioned the possibility of installing a couple of (double) chargers along Fawkner Drive in close proximity to the battery at the Library. Donald didn't think this was impossible. The location would also be better than say Bridge Street where legitimate objections might be raised to the length of parking required for a charge. Don suggested that a possible project for REB would be to seek funding for provision of EV charger stations. He suggested several funding sources including:
Another action by REB could be a letter of support for the proposal for a community battery. Don will liaise with David Blore when this would be desirable. We also discussed other project options including Indigo Power's proposal for changing household power usage for hot water from the old off-peak night rate model to midday to take advantage of the period of maximum solar generation. Typical cost for such a change is $500/household. Indigo Power have put a submission to our local Member Helen Haines for a pilot project. Kevin Smith and David Blore briefly discussed on the way home the possibility of REB subsidising installations In Benalla with a fixed payback process on a monthly or quarterly basis (say a subsidy of 50% of cost, paid back over five quarters at $50/quarter). Would be worth following up further with Indigo Power and Helen Haines as the site of a trial project. Other matters:- Donald advised that a tariff increase of up to 25% has been advised by the state regulator and will happen on 1 August for power supply . Indigo Power, conscious of their community obligations, will only increase their rate by 12%. IP will also increase their solar feed-in tariff by 7.2%. Donald confirmed that the new peak period for power charges is from 3 pm to 9 pm nightly. Brief discussion on heat pumps - nothing conclusive for us. We briefly discussed other power generation options including pumped hydro (not many options close to Benalla!) and wind. Kevin mentioned the wind resource in the Nillahcootie locality, where wind through the gap in the ranges to the east and west of the narrow valley are typically strong northerlies or southerlies. Donald referred to Hepburn as a potential model of how it might be done here - again with a battery incorporated. Actions:-
David Blore Castlemaine Mail, 23 June 2023 This looks very interesting!  David Blore Renewable Energy Benalla - Activities in 2022-2023:
Our focus in the past year has included the following areas: -
Peter Maddock A very informative seminar was hosted last week by Renewable Energy Benalla (part of BSFG) at the Benalla Uniting Church on solar panel and home battery installations. Brad Foletta, Director of Solargain Wangaratta, spoke on Solargain's experience in solar panels, batteries and solar hot water systems, with around 3000 installations in the North East over the past nine years since Solargain was established. Brad and more than half his staff are Benalla locals, so the company knows the local area intimately. Brad made mention of noted engineer and thinker, Saul Griffith, and his mantra “Electrify Everything” for combatting the use of fossil fuels for power and addressing climate change, as one of the key drivers for Solargain’s work across our region. Brad spoke about the current state of solar, developments in output and reliability of solar panels in the last decade or so, and demonstrated the significant cost savings on power bills for households who install panels (especially with the various subsidies available to offset installation costs). He then expanded on the related topic of home batteries. Brad spoke about; adding batteries to an existing system and how this works; the types of systems now available (self-consumption, partial backup, full backup and full off-grid systems); warranties and monitoring, and outlined the subsidies available for home battery installations. Brad highlighted a couple of key messages to the attentive audience:-
Brad and his team fielded many questions from the attendees, who appreciated his clear and knowledgeable presentation on a complex topic. David Blore Renewable Energy Benalla An Action Group of Benalla Sustainable Future Group 0407885410 BSFG members and supporters are invited to a Community Forum about Solar Panels and Home Batteries at 7:30pm, on Thursday 27th April at the Benalla Uniting Church.  Brad Foletta from Solargain Wangaratta will be speaking to inform us of the latest developments and state of play in this area, covering these aspects:
Attendance is free, but for catering purposes, please book your place using the Trybooking link https://www.trybooking.com/CHLUE We look forward to seeing you at this forum which promises to be very informative. Judy Schwarzman Secretary, BSFG On Thursday 30th March Russell Klose from Kilowatt Cars (Yackandandah based supplier of used Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicles (EV's) from Japan) presented a question, answer and drive session to 'a packed house' in the Benalla Uniting Church's general purpose meeting room.
The session started 5.30pm with a talk from Russell about Kilowatt Cars, what they are doing and why, why you should consider buying an EV, how to charge it (at home/on the road), bulk buy opportunities and the advantages of EV ownership-lower running costs, low emission driving etc. After his talk Russell made vehicles available to look at/sit in and test drive. A shared pizza dinner provided a valued opportunity to chat with others moving from contemplating to acting on the purchase of an electric vehicle. The session continued at 7.30 pm with a question-and-answer session with Russell, a great opportunity for those present to talk with someone who sells EVs, and has travelled over 25,000km in an EV around Australia. BSFG/REB members and supporters were also contacted to let them know that Russell would be speaking again at "Electrifying Agriculture in Euroa" on Thursday 13th April. Run by Farmers for Climate Action, with Solar Citizens and Euroa Environment Group. the event focused on the benefits of electric cars for farmers, as well as the future of EVs in the regions. Speakers from Farmers for Climate Action and Solar Citizens also spoke, as well as some local farmers and EV owners. One of Australia’s first electric utes, an electric farm bike, and other EVs were on site so that attendees could check out the technology for themselves. A good news story from the Benalla Rural City news page in the Benalla Ensign on Wednesday 12 April 2023, p2. EV Charging Station coming to Benalla
"Works to install a public electric vehicle (EV) charger at Benalla's Denny Street carpark are currently underway. Council is supporting EV charger company Evie Networks who are installing a 50kW EV charger, servicing two parking bays in the Denny Street carpark. Council is also finalising negotiations on a separate charging station with Tesla. The installation of these chargers is in line with Council's commitment to support the community to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions." Another article - 'Charge up your EVs' - relating to the installation of chargers in Benalla was published by the Ensign on Wednesday April 5th Russell Klose from Kilowatt Cars (Yackandandah based supplier of used Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicles (EV's) from Japan) will be presenting a question, answer and drive session at the Benalla Uniting Church, on Thursday 30th March.
We will start at 5.30pm with a talk from Russell on who they are, what they are doing and why, why you should consider buying an EV, how to charge it (at home/on the road), bulk buy opportunities and the advantages of EV ownership-lower running costs, low emission driving etc. After this part of the talk is finished, Russell will have vehicles available to look at/sit in and test drive. Then there will be a shared pizza dinner. A gold coin donation would be appreciated. At 7.30 pm we’ll have a question-and-answer session with Russell, a great opportunity to talk with someone who sells EVs, and has travelled over 25,000km in an EV around Australia. To book go to : https://www.trybooking.com/CGQLS Or email: [email protected] We hope you can join us. Judy Schwarzman Secretary, BSFG You may remember that Wangaratta Council's decision in 2018 to refuse Esco Pacific's - 140MW @ Glenrowan Solar Farm Proposal (245 hectares - 49,000 homes - $150 million) was overturned by VCAT on March 24 2019. Key permit issues for Victorian solar projects were clarified in this judgement.
On June 1st 2022 developer Esco Pacific announced it had agreed to the sale of the 125MW (dc) Glenrowan solar farm to construction and engineering giant Cimic Group. Cimic subsidiary, Pacific Partnerships, has ownership of the project, while another Cimic subsidiary, UGL, expects to complete the solar farm by the end of 2023, when operations and renewable energy generation is expected to commence. Pacific Partnerships' Glenrowan Solar Farm, which will generate an installed capacity of 130MWdc / 102MWac, was selected in early October 2022 as one of six new solar farm projects in the Victorian Renewable Energy Target 2 (VRET2) reverse auction process, securing a 10-year power purchase agreement with the state of Victoria in October 2022 for the sale of solar power from the Glenrowan Solar Farm In mid December 2022 work started at the Glenrowan Solar Farm near Wangaratta to prepare the 245-hectare site for construction next year. "A small crew is preparing the site, building access and internal roads, installing worker amenities and a laydown area for storage of materials as well as staff parking'. Find out more - Media Release 13 December 2023 'Site works underway at Glenrowan Solar Farm' Haystacks Solar Garden have announced details of their proto-type Solar Garden Project
The Solar Garden project is aimed at Electricity Customers who want to gain the benefits of Solar PV power but have no suitable roof solar access. This includes renters, apartments and any premises that has its solar access blocked by trees or tall adjacent buildings. Customer owned behind the meter PV installations will still give the best returns for those who have suitable sites. Haystacks have set up a part commercially owned (Como Energy Grong-Grong) Solar Farm, 1.5 MW, 4-5 hectare in the Riverina area. Solar Garden members buy a “garden plot share” at $4200 (equivalent cost of a 3kW PV solar set up). 333 garden plot shares are available for sale. Cost of the Solar Farm is about $1.4M, plot sales cover about 34%, the remainder being made up by NSW government funding and Commercial sources. The solar farm output will, at this stage, be sold on the spot market. The chosen site is a high solar output area, low fire and flood risk, and with normal storm and hail insurance and maintenance contracts. Haystacks have entered into a partnership contract with energy retailer Energy Locals, and all plot owners will need to transfer to them. Plot owners will receive an annual income credit of $505 for 10 years, credited on their electricity bills monthly (just like a feed in rebate, and equivalent of a 3kw PV system). It is expected the credits will be treated as are feed in tariff amounts as far as tax is concerned. Particularly important is plot owners receive the rebate even when they move (renters), as long as they remain with Energy Locals (every State except WA and NT). Indigo Power also uses Energy Locals as a supplier. The setting up of the Solar Garden concept has been very protracted (2 years) and complicated – involving a 55-page legal document and NSW government legislation. Plot members are financially protected by means of CCU's - Co-operative Capital Units - which are a type of debenture with preferential rights. Haystacks have a 5-year contract with Energy Locals, with a 3 year renewable option (in case things change and there are better options!) Garden plots are on sale now, (91 so far), and all 333 must be sold by 30 September for the project to proceed. Construction of the Solar Farm will be completed over Summer, and first repayments May 2023. Additional costs to plot members include a $50 joining fee, and $1 membership. As Energy Locals operate in Victoria it would be possible for Victorians to buy in. This is the first Solar Garden to get up, and it is expected others may evolve using differing arrangements. Kevin Smith 19th September 2022 REB had a meeting in early July to try to identify potential community organisations which might benefit from solar installations with similar loan/repayment schemes to that already in place for the 2 kindergartens.
Benalla Men’s Shed was one possible organisation, so a meeting was held on Wednesday 27th July at the Men’s Shed, in order to try to ascertain their power usage (and pattern of power usage) and determine the feasibility of a project there. The reality is that they operate 3 days per week with not a large amount of power consumption (there is no heating/cooling or hot water system in the building), so the payback period for the loan based on quarterly savings would be far too long to make this a feasible project for us under our current donation-based model for the rotating fund. They also have issues to sort out related to the metering of power on the site in Waller St, as the Lions and Rotary Clubs also have sheds there (both with very minimal power usage). We may need to broaden our enquiries to look at commercial enterprises, but that has some potential risks around the long-term viability of a business. Peter Maddock has come across an investigative tool called "Sunulator" which evaluates power use in relation to solar system size and can assess the appropriate size for the situation under consideration. The ATA has developed the Sunulator, and it has been used by the Geelong Sustainability Group to coordinate community renewable energy projects in Geelong (eg 149 kW solar installation at the Multicultural Aged Care building). Interestingly, GSG uses a community solar investment model. Peter Holmes BSFG and REB member Kevin Smith recently accepted an invitation to meet with representatives of Lochard Energy. a company which has recently submitted a development application to DELWP for a project called Energy Reserve (ER1). ER1 will be a hybrid natural gas and battery station in Winton, approximately 1.8km north east of Winton Motor Raceway (see below image).  Community enquiries can be addressed to [email protected], or alternatively fill out the form on the ER1 Project's webpage: https://www.lochardenergy.com.au/new.../energy-reserve-1/. This webpage is highly recommended to interested readers - it includes an informative video; project brief and FAQ.
Bev Lee  Benalla Sustainable Future Group (BSFG) has organised a forum for renters from 7-8pm on Tuesday 14th June, in order to examine the possibility of installing solar systems on your rented property, and energy efficiency measures for your home.
VENUE - Benalla Uniting Church, Meeting Room (opposite Coles supermarket). Solar Victoria has solar information for renters at www.solar.vic.gov.au/informationforrenters. Click to Download Flyer with details of the forum, and contact details for RSVP.  Covid lockdowns and restrictions have had a significant impact on the work of Renewable Energy Benalla (REB), particularly in relation to meetings and conducting any workshop activities. Implementing the Benalla Stationary Energy Transition Strategy developed in 2017 with assistance from Beyond Zero Emissions continues to be the major goal of REB. This strategy has the goal of achieving 100% renewables by 2028.
Benalla Community Energy Project The establishment of the Benalla Community Energy Project working group as a sub group of REB has been very successful. The goal of this working group was to establish a donation based Community Energy Fund, managed as a separate BSFG bank account, which makes interest free loans to community buildings to install solar panels or conduct other energy efficiency measures. Loan repayments by the community group to the fund are based on savings on energy bills. These repayments eventually enable funding of another system and the fund becomes a 'revolving fund'. The Community Energy Project working group approached two Benalla kindergartens who accepted the offer of interest free loans to install solar panels. Panels were installed at Munro Ave kindergarten in May 2021 and Bernard Briggs kindergarten in late January this year. Grants from the Winton Solar Farm Community Benefit Scheme assisted with funding both these projects. The solar installer, Solargain, made significant in-kind contributions to both projects and have indicated that they are willing to assist REB in future projects. Loan repayments from both kindergartens are rebuilding the balance of the fund. The working group will now work towards identifying potential future projects to fund. Energy Efficiency Due to Covid we have been unable to conduct Energy Efficiency workshops during the last two years. While the 2019 workshops were seen to be excellent by those who attended, the number of participants was disappointing. Improving energy efficiency, and therefore reducing energy use, is a major focus of the Transition Strategy and we need to focus on how to best promote this. Community Power Hub A joint initiative from Goulburn Valley Community Energy and Indigo Power has resulted in the establishment of the Hume Community Power Hub. The Victorian government has established a number of such Hubs across the state and has provided them with significant funding. The purpose of the Hume Community Power Hub is to increase the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects across the Hume Region. In order to do this the Hume Community Power Hub will build the capacity of the North East Community Energy Network and its members. REB is a member of this network, which is the largest community energy network in Australia. Kevin Smith is the REB/BSFG representative on this group. BSGF obtained funding from the Hume Community Power Hub to conduct information sessions for landlords about the advantages of installing solar panels on their properties to enable renters to have access to cheaper electricity bills. Future of REB REB has been struggling for some time due largely to a lack of active members and the future of REB has been discussed at several REB meetings. The Community Energy Project working group had been meeting independently of REB but in November we held a joint meeting to discuss the future of REB. It was decided that the groups should combine. This should overcome some of the problems that REB has been having. As a result of the BSFG Review process some new members have joined REB and this should also help. Renewable Energy Benalla was established as an action group of BSFG in 2017, following a very successful public forum in October 2016 on 'Future Energy for Benalla'. After five years as Convenor this report will be my final involvement with REB as I am moving away from Benalla very shortly. John Lloyd June 2022 Renewable Energy Benalla is an action group of the Benalla Sustainable Future Group (BSFG). We invite you to attend BSFG's Annual General Meeting: 7.30 pm Thursday 9th June 2022 at the Benalla Uniting Church Fellowship Room. A report from REB will be presented at the meeting.
Guest Speaker, Dr Lisa Rasmussen, is a Mercy Health clinician and holder of an Environmental Master’s degree. Lisa’s work in reducing the carbon foot print of Mercy Health has resulted in “Caring for People and Planet, Mercy Health’s Strategic Response to Laudato Si”. Supper will be served at the conclusion of the evening. On Tuesday May 31st Brad Foletta from Solar Gain spoke to Landlords from Benalla about the benefits of solar for landlords.
Brad presented information about Solar rebates for rental properties from the Solar Victoria website https://www.solar.vic.gov.au/solar-rebates-rental-properties. To summarise the benefits:
Subsidies available: Small scale technology certificates (STC’s) are generated when you install a Solar PV system or Solar hot water (including heat pumps) This incentive works like a rebate giving you:
There is a further Victorian state rebate available that is administered from the Solar Homes Program (Solar Victoria) Upon being deemed eligible you can be approved for:
Victoria Energy Efficiency Certificates: A further ~$1000 of VEECS state “rebate” is available for heat pump hot water units when replacing an electric storage hot water unit in Victoria. With these Solar PV subsidies combined there is an upfront discount of almost $6000 which can take the cost of a good quality 6.6kW solar PV system on a standard type house install down from the $10k mark to just $4k. For a solar hot water, the cost of a fully installed, good quality iStore heat pump hot water unit is reduced from $4000 to just $2000 if both above mentioned rebates are taken. Download the Solar for Rentals Fact Sheet. This meeting was organised by BSFG President Peter Holmes and it was very well attended. There will be another meeting for Tenants on Tuesday June 14th from 7pm-8pm in the Fellowship Room at the Uniting Church in Carrier Street Benalla, opposite the Coles car park. Peter Maddock |
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Banner - launch of REB's Munro Avenue Pre School 'behind the meter' solar panel installation, May 6 '21
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