Over 100 people gathered this week at the Goulburn Workers or live on-line to attend the first General Meeting of the Goulburn Community Energy Co-operative to appoint five new board members.
The Cooperative is building a community owned solar farm on Bridge St that will include a large-scale battery to bolster the revenue available to the Co-op and help stabilize the grid.
“On the same day that our local Federal representative and Minister for Energy defended yet more support for fossil fuels, local people have trumped up $2M to build a community owned solar farm on the outskirts of Goulburn,” said board member Peter Fraser.
“This pollution free solar farm will produce enough electricity to supply over 300 homes,” he said.
“It will be the first community owned solar farm in NSW to include a battery and because it’s owned by the local community the profits generated will stay in this community,” said Mr Fraser.
New board members include barrister Rowena Cantley-Smith, a local resident and one of Australia’s most prominent energy lawyers, sustainability expert Ben Elliston who lives in Canberra, and Virginia King who has a background in finance and lives in Crookwell. Roger Lucas, a long-time resident of Goulburn now living on the South Coast is another new board member, as well as Kerry Connors, an Associate Director with Energy Consumers Australia.
“The eight-member board has a 50/50 gender balance which is way better than most corporates and shines a light on our political parties that don’t seem to be able to get it right when it comes to balance,” said Mr Fraser.
The Cooperative has over 230 members who have invested a minimum of $400 in the project. Work is expected to begin on the Bridge St site later this year. A 400kW battery will enable the farm to store energy in the middle of the day and then deliver it to the grid late in the afternoon when demand is much higher and the wholesale price for electricity reaches its peak.
“The battery helps stabilise the grid, delivers energy when it’s most needed and at the same time generates higher revenue for the project,” said Mr Fraser.
“Community energy projects are only just starting to take off in Australia but are commonplace in Europe and the USA. We’re hoping that our project will inspire more communities across the country to take up the challenge, keep the profits within their region and improve their energy security at the same time,” he said.
The views expressed herein are those of the Goulburn Community Energy Co-operative only and not representative of any other agency or government entity.
