Geelong Sustainability is pleased to announce that we have secured funding to continue the Community Power Hub.
The 2023-2024 project will focus on the most impactful aspects of the 2021-2022 Community Power Hub Barwon South West, and will be delivered in the City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliff, Surf Coast Shire and Golden Plains Shire.
The Hub will directly support not-for-profit community organisations to address rising energy costs through the development and implementation of renewable energy projects. Expert assistance and hands-on project support from the Hub will help organisations across Geelong and surrounds with capacity building to address climate change whilst also reducing their overheads.
We are so grateful to receive generous support for this project from Geelong Community Foundation and PMF Foundation.
This is the first philanthropic grant which Geelong Sustainability has received from the Foundation, and we thank them for their vision, and for supporting important community outcomes through this project.
We’d also like to thank PMF Foundation for their generous support of the Hub. PMF are ongoing supporters of Geelong Sustainability, having previously contributed generously to the Community Energy Revolving Fund.
To tackle climate change, renewable energy targets are being set by Councils, community groups and businesses alike. Not-for-profit organisations in particular are looking to achieve 100% renewable energy. The Hub will provide much-needed assistance to not-for-profit organisations to help them achieve their own renewable energy targets, turning local ideas and goodwill into real, on-the-ground renewable energy projects.
Not-for-profit organisations are often limited in their ability to evaluate, fund and implement renewable energy options. The Community Power Hub will build capacity within local not-for-profit organisations and provide the focus and support they need to succeed. A Hub is the key to ensuring that in future, community projects reach fruition and don’t lay dormant.
We will deliver around 125kW of renewable energy within the first year of operation, which will be installed on the premises of five not-for-profit organisations.
This will see roughly $37,000 per year in energy bill savings for these organisations, which is equivalent to roughly 160 Tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided each year. When those savings are realised, the organisations are then in a position to give back to their communities through their own resources and programs.
We will simultaneously build the pipeline of projects to roughly 1.25MW, with a plan to engage around fifty not-for-profit organisations in the region throughout year one.
The project will be delivered from July 2023 to June 2024.