
Powering up renewable energy in the Barwon South West!
Geelong Sustainability delivered the Community Power Hub Barwon South West from July 1st 2021 to June 30th 2022.
The Community Power Hub has
Work
Work with communities across the region to develop local energy solutionsCollaborate
Collaborate with community members, local government and other stakeholders to identify community energy projectsSupport
Support local communities to deliver implementation ready projects across the Barwon South WestProvide
Provide trusted advice to communities on clean energy solutionsEmpower
Empower communities to make the transition to a zero carbon futureDeliver
Support community energy groups to deliver events and education forumsProjects
YMCA SOLAR INSTALLATION
Our first project, a solar installation at the YMCA in Newtown was completed in December 2021. The YMCA stadium installed a 60.3kW solar system and 50kW inverter, which is expected to generate around 190 kWh/day and save them around $13,000 a year on their power bill.
The project was funded by The Community Energy Revolving Fund (CERF). Created by Geelong Sustainability, the revolving fund provides an interest free loan to the YMCA who repays the loan using the savings from the solar system.
Geelong Sustainability can then reinvest monies from the Revolving Fund to support other community projects and so the cycle continues to reduce carbon emissions and generate broad community benefits.


The Community Energy Revolving Fund
Additional Projects
- 115.65kWh worth of solar installed across the Barwon South West with a project pipeline of work that will install an additional 322.9kWh worth of solar across 13 organisations.
- A series of Community Engagement Forums across the Barwon South West
- The development of Energy Tips website, a one stop guide for increasing your energy efficiency in your home and business. (Insert link to energytips.org.au)
