EOI call sparks strong interest in town’s RE switch

Solar panel suppliers and makers, white label billing services, solar battery companies and others keen to offer services to help switch the entire town to renewable energy are lining up to be part of Renewable Newstead’s bid to lead change in the renewable energy industry.

“We are impressed with the interest our call for expressions of interest (EOI) has generated,” Renewable Newstead spokesman Genevieve Barlow said.

“EOIs submitted to date reflect the full spectrum of the renewable energy industry, from small local operators to major international players, keen to advance local energy generation.

“We would like to see more interest from financiers, social impact investors, and philanthropists – innovators (people and companies) invested in making strategic and profound change for communities. I encourage those in the community finance sector to check out our EOI and talk to us.”

Renewable Newstead is a community group comprising local residents of the central Victorian town of Newstead. It’s been working towards switching the town to 100 per cent grid-connected renewable energy since the town’s residents identified they wanted out of fossil fuel generated electricity seven years ago.

The town’s energy use and time of use has already been identified. About 30 per cent of the generation from our proposed 1.7MW of local solar assets will be used locally, and most of that 30% is at peak times.

“We have gone out to the market to identify potential partners we can work with and to test the key assumptions we made when assessing options to do this,” Genevieve said.

“At this stage, we’re creating a model which is commercially viable and replicable so there’s huge potential for broadening this. Our partners need to be innovative and agile.

“We are motivated to nurture and strengthen our community and to make sure our residents are not left behind in the big energy switch and are not left facing costs too big for them to bear.

“We are seeking a template that can fit across other towns. Scalability is on our radar and with that, comes incredible branding value for innovators in all sectors of the industry.”

Renewable Newstead’s call for expressions of interest closes December 16. The EOI is an opportunity to help shape their plan for going 100% renewable, and ultimately help deliver that plan in partnership with Renewable Newstead. EOI respondents are encouraged to form consortia where necessary to provider a broad, integrated set of solutions.

It is calling for solar and storage suppliers, installers, white label or straight retail services that enable retailing and/or re-selling of power, community finance service providers, impact investors and philanthropists, corporates looking to invest in renewable energy supply, plus independent energy service providers – energy auditing, advice on optimising solutions for customers and managing their installations as well as energy efficient products.

The Victorian Government through the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio. has backed the project with $200,000.

Renewable Newstead has been working with local distribution business, Powercor, to understand energy load profiles across the town, constraints to investing in local renewables, and how future tariff structures may enhance or hinder project viability.

The EOI document is at www.renewablenewstead.com.au
EOI inquiries to Don Culvenor, Renewable Newstead +61 427 573 536