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About the Community Power Portal

Community Power Agency amalgamates available data and information from three sources:

  1. Public information,
  2. Dedicated research projects where we have permission, and
  3. Data that is voluntarily submitted to the dataset by organisations and individuals leading on projects.

Our database may include inaccurate or outdated information and should be regarded as a guide and not an exhaustive list of all projects.

Maintaining the database and keeping the map accurate and up to date is a collaborative, community effort, so please let us know if you have better information than what you see in the map.

If you would like to see a community power project added to the map, please use the project submission form, or email us at powerportal@cpagency.org.au

Q. What do you mean by ‘community’?

We use the term ‘community’ broadly to include:

  • First Nations communities (including Traditional Owner corporations, prescribed bodies corporate, local aboriginal land councils, or other First Nations-led networks or organisations)
  • Geographic communities (such as local township associations, place-based energy cooperatives, or local or regional community organisations bound by a shared physical location)
  • Communities of interest which connect people across different geographies through shared interests or values (such as a national co-operative, a faith-based or social justice organisation, a farming collective, or a migrant or low-income solidarity group working together on an energy initiative).

Q. What projects are included?

Our map portal incorporates any renewable energy project or related energy infrastructure project in which a community participates directly in the financial and/or legal sense. These could be:

  • Community energy projects: where a community organisation is planning (or has completed) a project to install sustainable energy, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy infrastructure or energy services. Typical examples include solar or solar battery installs on community facilities, bulk-buy programs, energy efficiency programs, community owned electric vehicle charging stations, or even becoming a community-owned electricity retailer. In these cases the community has conceived, developed, owns or operates the project.
  • Community partnerships: where households or individuals in a community are invited to co-invest in household solar battery and aggregated demand response programs, register for bill discounts, co-invest in a larger scale renewable energy project, take on an equity share, or purchase a revenue share in a project. These could be community-developer or community-council partnerships.

Does the map include publicly owned projects?

The database does not include projects that involve public ownership of energy assets such as council-owned and operated solar farms, or Government owned energy corporations without any direct legal and/or financial participation of community stakeholders. However, the database does include council-led initiatives that facilitate direct community participation. So long as there is direct participation and involvement of a community behind a project then you’ll meet our definition of being community power.

Does the map include community benefit funds?

No. Forms of community participation that do not involve direct financial and/or legal participation in a project, such as community benefit funds, are not included in the portal.

I can’t find my project!

Adding details of your renewable energy project is important to highlight the great work that the sector is doing. The database and map relies on project proponents, owners or administrators sharing their experiences and the lessons they have learnt. If you are involved in community power projects, we would be very grateful if you could share information.

If you want to add details of a project that is not yet on the web map, please use the project submission form. The data you provide will be reviewed by a CPA staff member and you will be contacted to verify or clarify information as needed. Alternatively you can contact us and we can schedule a call to get your project details.

My project details are out of date! How do I update my project details?

Email us at powerportal@cpagency.org.au providing your name, your role in the project, your organisation name, the name of the project and how best to contact you. Our staff will find your organisation in our database and email you a unique link that allows you to edit your organisation and project details. We may contact you if we need to verify your identity and affiliation with the project.

Glossary of terms used in the map

  • Community organisation name – Name of the community entity or organisation involved in the project
  • Key partners – Name of any other partners directly involved in implementing the project, other than the community organisation, not including grant providers.
  • Local government area – A Local Government Area (LGA) is the specific district or region managed by a local council. It represents the level of government closest to the community, responsible for providing everyday services like local roads, parks, waste collection, and town planning. While these areas are often called “councils,” they can also be known as Cities, Shires, or Towns depending on where they are located.
  • Project type – Summarises what the project does, technology and delivery model. Examples are: ‘community solar’, or ‘community financed commercial energy solution’.
  • Date operational – The Commercial Operation Date (COD) or date the project (asset) started generating energy.
  • Generation Capacity  (kW) – The maximum output a project is designed to produce under ideal conditions (often called its nameplate capacity). While the actual power produced varies based on the weather, the nameplate capacity tells you the total size and potential of the energy asset.
  • Storage capacity (kWh) – The total amount of electricity a battery can store to be used later, based on its nameplate Capacity. This rating tells you essentially how much energy the battery is guaranteed to hold when fully charged. It is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), representing how many hours the battery can provide a certain amount of power before it needs to be recharged.
  • Project stage – The stage of development that the project is at. Projects that are at feasibility stages, have submitted planning applications, or are under construction are summarised as ‘under development’. Projects that have been built and are generating energy are summarised as ‘operational’.
  • Community participation – Describes how the community is financially and legally involved in the project.