Community Power Agency

The Understanding Australian Energy Transmission Projects Resource Hub is now live! 🚀 Energy and transmission can be complicated. Searching for information can take time. This initiative, led by The Energy Charter plugs that gap by compiling resources on common queries relating to energy transmission projects in Australia. We're thrilled to have been able to contribute and are grateful to all the brilliant collaborators that helped to make this resource hub so great. Check it out!

In big energy news today - the Federal Government has just awarded 19 renewable energy projects in Australia’s largest-ever renewable energy tender under the Capacity Investment Scheme. We see the merit criteria for this scheme – the standards these projects were judged against – as a key opportunity to raise the bar. These projects should be in a race-to-the-top to deliver the best socioeconomic and environmental outcomes for host communities.

A big thank you to Groundswell Giving! 💫 We’re super grateful for their generous funding, which will help power our Local Energy Hubs campaign. Together, with RE-Alliance and Yes2Renewables, we're advocating for the federal government to fund and resource Local Energy Hubs – a network of outreach centres across Australia, staffed by local people who are dedicated to helping their local community to understand, participate in and benefit from the shift to renewable energy. You can find out more here: https://lnkd.in/gziiGU4b

The First Nations Clean Energy Strategy is out! 💡 Key message: "Australia is on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation transformation, as our energy systems shift to clean, renewable forms of power. First Nations peoples, the original custodians of this land, must be central to – and benefit from – this transition." A great article by Heidi Norman summarising this very important work. A huge congratulations to all those who worked tirelessly to make this strategy happen. We look forward to incorporating these principles into our partnerships and collaborations. #doingrenewablesbetter

The integration of biodiversity and agriculture is key in the planning and operation of renewable energy projects 🌱 Our Regional Coordinator, Heidi McElnea, has been at the forefront of this effort, working closely with developers, farmers and ecologists to explore innovative opportunities that combine solar energy production with nature positive solutions. This article shines a spotlight on some of the exciting initiatives taking place in the New England region — a great read for anyone interested in the nature and renewables space. #natureandrenewables Sabine Tausz-Posch ACEN AgriFutures Australia https://lnkd.in/gy8Xmvkr

I am fully behind this excellent idea of Local Energy Hubs and it would be great to see the Federal Government invest in this across the country. Many many years ago I worked for the Moreland Energy Foundation Ltd (MEFL), a not for profit funded out of the sale of the electricity grid in Victoria. MEFL became a very trusted and respected organisation that was independent and housed some incredible staff who really knew their stuff about energy and how to help communities transition. Every day community members would drop in for free advice on their bills, or electrifying (even back in early 2010s), or getting solar/batteries, or understanding what rebates they could access etc. Whilst MEFL's focus was on Moreland it was a testbed for innovative community energy projects that eventually scaled across the country and helped other communities beyond its borders. After MEFL I moved to the country and ran the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance and the More Australian Solar Homes (MASH) program. The CVGA operates across 13 rural and regional local governments. Most of these councils were playing a role in helping community members with the energy transition, either through dedicated programs or just drop in sessions helping navigate energy bills. In addition, councils were trying to fill a gap in helping communities deal with a rising number of utility scale projects coming in to their region. What both MEFL and the CVGA experience showed me was that independent, trusted advice on the energy transition is critical, highly valued by communities and is currently seriously under-supported and under-funded across the country. Without this capacity, three things happen. Firstly, people are lost trying to get on top of their energy bills, and often miss out on all of the programs and rebates that are designed to help them. Secondly, proactive communities who want to build their energy independence, accelerate decarbonisation, develop community energy projects fumble their way through without support and often burnout. Thirdly, and I think one of the most critical, mis and disinformation about proposed large scale projects spread like wildfire in communities and communities feel ill equipped to negotiate benefits from multiple developers. Local Energy Hubs is a neat and cost effective solution to this. It brings in elements of what I saw at MEFL/CVGA and addresses multiple challenges at once. The energy transition is complicated, and lots of different things need to happen to ensure it is fast and works for people and nature. But every now and then a simple solution emerges that warrants backing and momentum and in my view this is one of those. Great job to RE-Alliance Community Power Agency for accelerating this campaign. Andrew Bray Jarra Hicks, PhD Claudia Hodge Lucy Allan Tony Goodfellow Justin Whelan Kitty Walker

A little bit about us and our mission to create projects and policies that are good for both people and the planet. Thanks Nature Conservation Council NSW! https://lnkd.in/gJAwrRhq

Essential Energy will be holding its third Community Energy webinar on 4 December 2024, from 5.30 – 6.30pm. To register, visit https://lnkd.in/gr6j6BUj. This webinar will focus on the Venus Bay Feasibility Study of Community Resilience and Reliable Energy. The project has developed pathways to achieve 100% energy resilience using a combination of behind the meter (i.e. household/business) solar, storage, energy efficiency and energy flexibility as well as in front of the meter network connected mid-scale generation (wind) and community battery, configured as a microgrid. The project involved significant community engagement to develop a plan ‘for’ the community, and will have key learnings for other community energy groups. 'See' you there!

Community Power Agency directors Kim and Kristy were thrilled to accept the NSW Sustainability Award at the Banksia Foundation annual awards night in Sydney on Friday! Our Haystacks Solar Garden project won the category for Marketing and Communications for Impact Award. Haystacks is Australia’s first large-scale solar garden, providing anyone who is locked out of rooftop solar with the opportunity to participate in (and benefit from) the transition to renewable energy. A huge thank you to the Banksia Foundation for the honour!

📢 PSA The NSW Government has just released the Renewable Energy Planning Framework This new framework is designed to provide greater clarity, consistency and transparency for communities and the energy industry. Community Power Agency welcomes this updated framework. We hope it will offer a more comprehensive approach to identifying what responsible development looks like, while outlining ways to minimise impacts and increase benefits for regional communities. There’s a lot to unpack and we’re eager to dive in! https://lnkd.in/gyA9wTeD