MORE than 1700 solar panels and 180 battery storage units will be rolled out across the Limestone Coast in coming weeks creating a “virtual” community power plant.
This follows nearly 100 people signing up with renewable energy company ShineHub that held two information sessions last month in Mount Gambier.
It is one of the largest community-based take-ups in Australia for ShineHub, which is striving to drive a “community solar revolution” in the region.
According the company, the roll-out will collectively generate around two megawatts of “on demand” power in the region.
ShineHub – which acts as a broker between households and solar companies – partnered with the region’s Community Action for Sustainability and the Smart Energy Council to bring the project to Mount Gambier.
Company co-founder Alex Georgiou said the uptake in the Limestone Coast was well above expectations.
Revealing people could continue to sign up until the end of March, he said nearly 100 people were confirmed and another 15 had shown interest from across the Limestone Coast.
“The more people we get on board, the bigger the discounts we can give people,” Mr Georgiou told The Border Watch.
He said site inspections at the various properties would begin next week with installation of panels and batteries beginning as
early as next month.
“Solar panels and batteries will be installed in Mount Gambier, Millicent and Naracoorte,” Mr Georgiou said.
He suggested feedback from the information sessions in Mount Gambier demonstrated the community’s strong desire to transition to community-generated power.
“People want to move away from the big energy companies to community solar.”
He said the majority of people who signed up would pay less for the system than their current power costs.
Importantly, Mr Georgiou said these households would also be buffered from potential blackouts.
The renewable energy advocate said he was thrilled with the information sessions in Mount Gambier, which attracted the highest registered attendance in Australia.
He said the community interest was also high because the costs of storage batteries were falling.
Mr Georgiou said there were now six installers in the Limestone Coast trained to install batteries.
“The batteries are extremely effective – generally you will see most of your power costs go if you have a battery.”
He said it appeared people in Mount Gambier were frustrated with the system, price increases and black-outs.
Mr Georgiou said his company’s community program aimed to replace big energy sources with solar and renewables.
He said this could be achieved through individuals producing their own energy through solar, connecting everyone together and establish power hubs for people who could not connect to solar.
He warned Mount Gambier would need to achieve its own energy hub over the next 20 years.
Mr Georgiou warned if Mount Gambier took too long to transition to renewables, the cost would be higher.
“ShineHub is an organisation that helps people connect solar companies and products and we also negotiate bulk discounts to make it more affordable,” he said.
