Over the past decade, regions across Australia have experienced weather events of increasing intensity and frequency. These weather events put pressure on our essential infrastructure such as gas, electricity and water. Climate extremes can also impact our social, economic and emotional wellbeing of communities. Communities who have their basic energy needs met will be better able to respond to these additional challenges. That is why the Community Power Agency has teamed up the Energy Innovation Cooperative to deliver a how-to guide on Resilient Energy Centres (RECs).

What is a Resilient Energy Centre (REC)? 

A REC is a building that has been equipped with a backup energy system so that it is energy independent in the case of a region being cut off from the main electricity grid. Possible functions of the RECs might be that it is a space for resilience planning and an energy resource for response and recovery. However, ultimately the local communities who are leading on the development of these centres should determine their use, in conjunction with key stakeholders. That way, RECs can be fit for purpose and meet the needs of the community. Importantly, RECs are not a place of refuge, emergency relief or a place of last resort. Those places are specific and managed by state and local authorities trained and resourced to operate them.

Key points of our how-to guide

We walk you through the a-z of developing a REC. 

• First things first, community engagement. 
  A REC should be fit for purpose and reflect the needs and values of the community. Our guide walks you through the principles of community engagement and strategies to help garner community feedback, including sample survey questions. 

• How to identify potential locations for resilient energy centres
  Every community is different, so we point you in the direction of the people who can help you assess potential locations for a REC. In some cases, you might be able to utilise an existing facility. We detail some considerations that should be given such as accessibility, safety, building requirements and key questions to ask energy system installers.

• How to establish an organisational structure
  Whether you’ve found a host, or you’re building from scratch, you will need to establish an organisational structure to manage the REC. This could be an existing organisation in the community. Or perhaps you might need to establish a new organisation. Our guide walks you through some of the most relevant considerations, such as; organisational structures, the pros and cons of registering with the Australian Charities and Not-forprofits Commission and how you can manage ongoing operations. 

• Tech support
  Locking in an installer as early as possible is key. As licensed electricians, they should be able to advise on what technologies or equipment is appropriate for your installation and suggest options for what to choose. Be sure to check out our guide to be across all the most common technologies that are relevant to RECs such as batteries, generators, and the electricity demand of different devices. 

• Case studies
  We explore case studies from the Upper Kiewa Valley in Victoria and the coastal town of Moruya and the Hawkesbury region in New South Wales. All REC developments should be approached on a case-by-case basis, and these examples illustrate how different they can be. Each case study explains the type of REC that was developed, funding, lessons learned during the process and community outcomes.

• How to fund RECs
  There are commonly three stages of funding required: feasibility or early community engagement; capital expenditure and installation; and ongoing community activities and system maintenance. There are many different avenues to explore when trying to source this funding. Our guide explores common sources such as crowdfunding, philanthropy, government and private grants, and gifted equipment. 

• How to determine roles and enable organisations
  Developing a REC requires many different people and organisations taking on clear roles to contribute to the project’s development and success. Whilst the strength of RECs is that generally they are community led, staff and volunteers from other agencies are available for support, contacts and technical advice. Our guide can help you divide and conquer.

Press release

The Victorian government has announced a new program to pay landholders who host transmission lines on their properties. 

Under the program, eligible landholders will receive a payment of $8,000 per kilometre, per year, for 25 years.

Community energy advocate, Community Power Agency, welcomed the news but called for more localised engagement around the payment plan along with a co-designed process for other supportive benefit sharing initiatives that are tailored to meet the needs of host communities. 

“It’s a step in the right direction in that the Victorian Government is acknowledging that the community and the landholders really do have an important role to play in enabling this climate critical infrastructure”, Community Power Agency Director Kim Mallee said. 

“But it is essential that the community has a genuine seat at the table when we’re designing these kinds of policies and the way that we roll out infrastructure like transmission lines for the energy transition.”

This framework follows in the footsteps of the NSW government who last year announced a payment plan of $200,000 per kilometre of new transmission infrastructure for landowners, paid out in annual installments over 20 years. 

The Community Power Agency is helping community groups and local governments understand the various types of benefit sharing opportunities associated with the clean energy transition. This collaboration helps to create authentic engagement strategies that have community design at their core.

Labor’s first budget included a four year, $102.2m commitment to fund a ‘community solar banks program’ as part of their promised Powering Australia Plan.

But what is a community solar bank, and how can it help with Australia’s climate and energy challenges?

WHAT IS A SOLAR BANK?

More usually known as solar gardens, these projects offer householders the chance to buy or lease a plot in an off-site solar array, with the electricity generated from their plot sold into the grid and their portion then credited back onto participants’ electricity bills via a partnership with an energy retailer.

The concept has been adapted from the idea of a community vegetable garden, which allows those without a backyard to plant and grow fruit and vegetables in a shared plot of land. A solar garden, however, does not need to be tended by householders, meaning it can be located anywhere.

Solar gardens have been popular in Germany and in the US, with the fast growing American market seeing more than 200 MW of shared solar gardens already in operation.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Haystacks Solar Garden will build a 1.5MW solar array on 5 hectares in a paddock at a farming property in Grong Grong, one hour west of Wagga Wagga, which will be divided into 333 solar plots, each owned by an individual or nonprofit organisation.

As a form of community renewable energy, solar gardens like Haystacks are contributing to the end of fossil fuels in Australia. People with or without a roof can now choose to move away from fossil fuel generated sources of energy to solar power controlled by communities.

Renters, apartment dwellers, and people without access to a suitable roof – among the 30% of Australians currently locked out of solar – can all take part in a solar garden project. Solar gardens provide access to clean power for a diversity of households, paving the way for a fairer energy future.

Solar gardens contribute to decentralising our electricity system by adding another mid-scale energy generation project to the grid. Doing so helps to increase energy reliability in regional areas while also providing income certainty to farmers hosting the infrastructure. Both these build community resilience against future climate crises.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Pilot projects like Haystacks Solar Garden are already up and running, with plots still available to householders and not for profit organisations before construction begins in the summer months.

As more solar gardens are proposed, advocates are calling for Labor to expand the existing Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) beyond homeowners for their own solar panels to allow these rebates for solar garden plots to households that rent, live in apartments or without a suitable roof for solar.

“Community energy projects such as solar gardens play a critical role in the transition to renewable energy not just in terms of megawatt capacity but also in a way that is socially inclusive, creates social licence and stimulates meaningful regional economic development. It’s an exciting model to be pioneering for Australia, which other countries have been enjoying for years.”

Kristy Walters, Community Power Agency Director

The Haystacks Solar Garden is being developed with grant support from the NSW Regional Community Energy Fund for Australia’s first large-scale Solar Garden along with Sydney based community energy group Pingala, solar developer Komo Energy and retailer Energy Locals.

The election of an Albanese Government and a raft of climate-focused Greens and independent MPs heralds a new chapter in Australia’s story of becoming a renewable energy superpower. But there are some blank pages to fill in Labor’s Power Australia plan before community energy initiatives like solar banks and neighbourhood batteries can be deployed to assist more Australians to benefit from cheaper, cleaner power.

Over the weekend we saw that Australians in cities and regions around the country overwhelmingly voted for climate action. With the doubling of the crossbench, the public have made it clear that the major parties have not been delivering effective climate policy that will have tangible outcomes.

“Labor’s Powering Australia plan brings some welcome community energy initiatives that have potential to assist everyday Australians to transition to a lower carbon energy system and provide savings on their power bills if designed and delivered appropriately” says Community Power Agency’s project manager Kim Mallee.

The 2022 federal election result indicates broad social acceptance for the large-scale build out of renewable energy, however it should be remembered that social licence is an active process which can be revoked.

The Powering Australia Plan commits 85 solar banks and 400 neighbourhood batteries which could enable everyday Australians to be active participants in and beneficiaries of the renewable energy transition – but only if they are well designed and adequately supported.

While the design of these community energy policies is yet to be clarified, we suggest a roll-out of Community Power Hubs across regional Australia bolstered with a capacity building network behind it. 

“Community energy is not just an electricity project at a local scale – it’s the community having agency and participation in energy projects to determine their own vision” says Mallee.

Solar Gardens (Banks)

Solar Gardens (as we prefer to call Solar Banks) provide a solution for the 30% of Australians that are still locked out of the rooftop solar revolution because they rent, live in an apartment or have an inappropriate roof due to shading or other reasons. Solar Gardens offer plots in an off-site solar array with the electricity generated from their solar garden plots credited onto participants’ electricity bills. 

Community energy projects such as Solar Gardens play a critical role in the transition to renewable energy not just in terms of megawatt capacity but also in a way that is socially inclusive, creates social licence and stimulates meaningful regional economic development.

Community Power Agency has been pioneering the Solar Garden model in Australia since 2018 with an ARENA funded research project in partnership with University of Technology Sydney, that found the model is viable and desirable in Australia. 

Labor’s ‘Solar Banks’ initiative commits $100Million to deliver an initial 85 solar banks assisting with 50% of the capital costs and importantly also covers the project’s feasibility and development costs. 

After our Solar for All advocacy campaign, Community Power Agency was successful in receiving grant support from the NSW Regional Community Energy Fund for Australia’s first large-scale Solar Garden along with Sydney based community energy group Pingala, solar developer Komo Energy and community-owned electricity retailer Enova Energy. The Haystacks Solar Garden will be a 1MW solar array in the NSW Riverina and allow 333 people to purchase 3kW solar garden plots and receive credits on their electricity bill. It is in the final stages of network and construction approvals.  

From the previous two years experience developing Haystacks Solar Garden we know that to roll out an effective Solar Banks/Garden program of the size Labor are proposing will require tailored expertise, support and coordination – such that could be provided via a Community Power Hubs & Network model. 

Neighbourhood Batteries

The ‘Community Batteries for Household Solar’ initiative also outlined in the Powering Australia Plan shows some promising potential if developed effectively with communities at its heart. The initiative commits $200 million towards developing 400 neighbourhood batteries to help store rooftop solar energy at peak generation times and then make it available for the community at peak demand times.

There is a lot of buzz right now about the potential for neighbourhood batteries to assist in the transition to a clean energy future in a way that is nimble and equitable for everyday people. Developing business models and partnerships that suit the Australian electricity system and deliver meaningful participation for communities will be a key first step in developing this initiative effectively.

Whilst there are a number of neighbourhood battery trials underway in Australia there is a critical balancing act in making a project successful which requires careful consideration of network location, metering technology, tariff design and community engagement. Lessons learnt from existing trials will be critical in ensuring the roll out of an Australian wide community battery program of this scale is effective. 

For more analysis and insight on neighbourhood batteries see this Renew Economy article by ANU researchers.

Community Power Hubs

Community Power Hubs are on-the-ground support organisations with the expertise and resources to enable community energy projects like solar banks and neighbourhood batteries to thrive. 

To date in Australia there have been three regional pilot Community Power Hubs programs (currently expanded to 7 locations) funded by the Victoria Government with existing non-profit organisations resourced to deliver this program. 

A key feature that has enabled the success of the Victorian Community Power Hubs is the background facilitation role played by Sustainability Victoria – a government agency – to enable collaboration, capacity building and knowledge sharing.  

The roll out of solar banks and neighbourhood batteries will need on the ground support like Hubs adequately bolstered with a capacity building network. Our policy brief – Smart Energy Communities Program – details how 50 Community Power Hubs with grant resources and a Smart Energy Communities Network for capacity building can be delivered and scaled up over 10 years.

*This blog was edited on 26/5/22 to update our language about community batteries – we agree with the ANU Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program team that they should be referred to as “neighbourhood” batteries as a catch-all, except where community members have explicit participation and/or control over their planning and operation.