And with a team for leverage, 2030Yea community energy group is seeking a slice for Yea
By Jacinta Agostinelli
Cartoon by Bev Dick
2030Yea, Murrindindi Shire Council, Indigo Power and RMIT University have joined forces and applied for funding from the Victorian Neighbourhood Battery Initiative (Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action – DEECA). The team has applied for Round 3 Stream 1 funding, specifically to prepare a business case for a battery in Yea. This funding is not for the battery itself.
If the application is successful, the team will immediately begin the work of developing a business case. A business case can take up to 12 months to prepare. One objective of the business case is to investigate whether a neighbourhood battery in Yea makes economic sense. In the case a battery is nonviable, 2030Yea will explore other ways to transition our town to a renewable future. Read on though, for the story so far.
Battery business
The application criteria required a range of skills, expertise and financial capacity and each partner alone could not satisfy all criteria. The project team had to show DEECA that the community supported a neighbourhood battery. An active community energy group on the ground that is engaged with the local community, shows that the community supports and is ready for change. Enter 2030Yea. For 2030Yea, the move comes after four years of developing the group, engaging with local community including the local shire council, and making wider connections with other renewable energy organisations. See our achievements here.
Indigo Power is a community owned energy company and a social enterprise. It returns 50% of profits back to its regions. Operating as a company in the renewables industry, Indigo Power satisfied the financial requirements of the funding, so is the lead organisation for this project.
Associate Professor Lasantha Meegahapola from RMIT University’s School of Engineering, will provide any network related studies. Murrindindi Shire Council will perform a civil role. We certainly have a team with a big appetite for working towards a renewable future for Yea.
Is a battery right for Yea?
Working towards a community battery for Yea
There are a number of considerations the project team will address in the business case, all of which amount to whether a battery for Yea makes economic sense and is physically possible within the network distribution. As stated, this is a lengthy process, and we will give regular updates.
We have discussed the attributes of neighbourhood batteries many times in previous Watt Matters: A renewable future for Yea – report; Community batteries but who’s in charge?; The future is here; Your electric hot water system could be the best solar storage of all. In relation to this particular project, a battery in Yea would support the local electricity network by reducing load on the network and by increasing the network capacity for more solar installations. It would, of course, help our shire reach its emissions reduction target. Individuals will also reduce their emissions footprint.
Sitting tight
But for now, our application is in, the funding is closed and we are waiting to hear from the State Government as to our success or otherwise. If successful we will be eating pie while constructing the facts and figures. If unsuccessful we will eat humble pie and be back again for a future round of servings.
