Bright Futures Renewable Energy Project

Work to install 287 solar panels on five East Gippsland Shire Council buildings has begun.

This is expected to reduce council’s carbon dioxide emissions by 123 tonnes each year, equivalent to seven Australian households being taken off the grid.

Customer Service Centres in Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, Omeo, and Orbost, as well as the Bairnsdale Business Centre will benefit from the project. A total of 94 kW of solar panels will be installed by local company EnviroLinkAu.

Omeo continues to experience frequent blackouts which is problem for the community and local businesses.

A grid-connected battery will also be installed at the Omeo site to keep some services running, such as the town’s only bank, when there is a grid failure.

The payback period for the project is expected to be between four and five years. Rising energy prices combined with the declining cost of solar products and the current feed-in tariff means solar energy is more viable than ever before.

For households or local businesses considering solar in 2018, the likely financial outcomes for a 3 kW solar photo voltaic (PV) system should be:

• Installed cost $3,600;

• Annual generation 3,450 kWh;

• Retail tariff 25 cents per kWh;

• Export tariff 11.3 cents per kWh;

• Amount of export 30%;

• Annual income $720;

• Simple payback time 5 years; and

• Simple rate of return 20% pa.

A study was undertaken to see which council buildings would benefit most from solar panels. It found the customer service centres, which are open during daylight hours were most suitable. Once the solar panels are installed, the centres will use electricity generated by the sun, with any excess sent into the power grid for a payment of 11.3 cents per kW. This is called a feed-in tariff.

Community members are encouraged to consider installing solar on their homes and businesses as well.

Further information: Rebecca Lamble, Sustainability Officer

East Gippsland households and businesses have shown their support for an investigation of potential renewable energy projects in the region that could help cut greenhouse emissions, reduce power costs and support local investment.

The ‘Bright Futures’ Renewable Energy Project has completed a stage one assessment of opportunities for renewable energy. The project has identified a range of renewable energy initiatives that could help households, local communities and businesses reduce their energy costs and support local investment in renewable technologies.

East Gippsland Shire Council engaged Dr Rob Passey, from ITP Renewables, to identify opportunities for delivering long-term renewable energy solutions. Following consultation with local business, government and the broader community via workshops, interviews and a shire-wide survey, a range of options have been recommended for East Gippsland.

Dr Passey ‘s report concluded that there are currently no network constraints that limit the amount of renewable energy that can be added to the grid beyond the 5kW limit by Ausnet for small systems and there are many different business models that can be used to enable uptake of renewable energy.

According to the report, these technologies have a number of benefits beyond financial savings. They create local employment, retain electricity expenditure in the community and increase community capacity to deal with network outages.

The report found the installation of one megawatt of solar would create about twenty job-years of direct employment in East Gippsland, avoid about 1,150 tonnes/year of greenhouse gases, and retain an additional $85,000 of expenditure in the region.

The findings of the technical report and community consultation were recently presented informally to council and in a community forum held in Bairnsdale. Both of these documents can be downloaded from the document library on the right hand side of this web page.

The Bright Futures Renewable Energy Project is funded by the Victorian Governments Victorian Climate Change Grant 2015 and New Energy Jobs Fund.

The next stage of the project will finalise the prioritisation of options and develop business cases to support funding for implementation.

Local business operators or organisations are invited to hear about the Bright Futures Renewable Energy project for East Gippsland and find out about opportunities for their business or organisation to reduce energy costs.

Dr Rob Passey (ITP Renewables) will outline opportunities for renewable energy and there will be an overview about the recent local business consultations and survey results.

East Gippsland Shire Council have engaged Dr Rob Passey from ITP Renewables to identify opportunities for delivering long-term renewable energy solutions for the region. Rob will present the technical findings and Martin Richardson will outline results from the recent energy survey and some of the key local findings.

There will be an opportunity to meet with Rob at the end of the session and answer questions.

• Monday 16 October

• 6pm - 8pm

• Riversleigh, Bairnsdale

• Light supper

• Free event - but must RSVP to sustainability@egipps.vic.gov.au

A free community session is being held to present findings from the Bright Futures Renewable Energy project. East Gippsland Shire Council have engaged Dr Rob Passey from ITP Renewables to identify opportunities for delivering long-term renewable energy solutions for the region. Rob will present the technical findings and outline some of the opportunities to increase renewable energy across East Gippsland. Martin Richardson will outline results from the recent energy survey and some of the key local findings.

• Tues 17 October from 6pm to 8pm

• Meeting Room 2&3, Bairnsdale Community & Education Hub, Dalmahoy St, Bairnsdale

• Tea & coffee and light supper

• Free event

Businesses using gas can find out how to cut the pressure of rising energy bills at a Gas Efficiency Masterclasses. Aimed at engineering and technical staff, the briefings will be delivered by business energy specialist Kevin Joyce of Energy and Thermal Services. Kevin has more than 30 years’ experience helping businesses improve gas efficiency.

• Tues October 17 Bairnsdale

  8am - 11.30am

  Bairnsdale Sporting and Convention Centre, 117 Great Alpine Rd, Lucknow

• Wed October 18 Traralgon

  8am - 11.30am

  Premier Function Centre 29 Grey Street Traralgon

Topics

• Gas tariffs

• Gas steam and hot water boiler efficiency

• Direct gas heating efficiency

• System maintenance for quick savings

• Fine tuning systems to improve gas efficiency

• Renewable energy options

• Government grants

• Financing your project

The masterclass is part of a package of Sustainability Victoria programs which include grants of up to $50,000 for businesses which use high volumes of gas. The grants can be used to support gas-related projects including capital equipment upgrades, non-routine maintenance and repairs, fuel switching, and improving metering at different points of the production process.

Register at http://forms.sustainability.vic.gov.au/sustainabilityvicgovau-a7n4a/pages/s4uoxhmaeeeahry0fpyba.html

The survey for the Bright Futures Renewable Energy Project closed 5pm Monday September 18, 2017.

Thank you to the community members who took the time to submit comments and feedback.

The project team are now reviewing the survey responses before we move to the second stage of the project.

The second stage of the project is funded by the New Energy Jobs Fund and will prioritise the most appropriate new energy technology options for East Gippsland. Detailed businesses cases will be developed to help attract and facilitate new investment in the region.

Sign up to receive project updates by email.

This article provides an overview for the consumer on what factors to consider when purchasing solar.

Read article on Choice website.