Pioneering community solar and battery project launches after “12 years of hard work”

One of Australia’s pioneering community renewables projects, the Goulburn Community Solar Farm in New South Wales, has been completed and will soon start generating power and delivering returns to its 288 local investors.

First conceived back in 2014 by local residents under the Goulburn Community Energy Co-operative, formed by Community Energy 4 Goulburn (CE4G), the 1.4 megawatt (MW) solar farm was officially launched alongside 4 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery in the NSW Southern Tablelands.

The project is underpinned by a cooperative ownership structure with each co-op member given one vote regardless of the size of their shareholding in the solar farm – thus removing the risk of takeovers and ensuring democratic governance.

Goulburn Community Energy Co-operative chair, Andrew Bray – who is also the national director of regional community renewables advocacy group RE-Alliance – says the co-op part of the project has been all important. It also holds a message for developers of projects of all sizes.

“The powerful thing is these members now have a stake in a renewable energy power plant rather than leaving the clean energy market to large national and international interests. It is a great step in true benefit sharing,” Bray said on Saturday.

“Today is the culmination of 12 years of hard work from Goulburn community members who wanted to be part of the shift to clean energy that is happening all over the country.

“We are delighted that we can start generating returns from the sale of our clean energy and repay our investors’ patience.”

Years of grit, figuratively and literally

Patience has been critical to the success of the small but important project – as has collaboration. Because, as One Step Off The Grid reported more than two years ago when construction first started, not much about this project has come easily.

CE4G secured a contract with local outfit Komo Energy for development services of the solar farm in August 2019, and in March 2020, won a $2.1 million grant from the state government to add battery storage.

This was backed by the many hundreds of locals who collectively raised $2.6 million for the project, despite it being in the federal electorate of noted LNP renewables opponent and then federal energy minister Angus Taylor, now the leader of the federal opposition.

In mid-2020, Smart Commercial Energy became involved in the project, and helped to navigate what turned out to be a gruelling approvals process for the small, community-owned project, despite its location on a former gravel washing pit, sold to CE4G by a local earth-moving company.

China solar giant Trina Solar also joined the effort, making the Goulburn project the first in the world to use a full suite of the company’s products, including Vertex N bifacial modules, TrinaTracker Fix Origin fixed-tilt racking, and the China-based company’s new Elementa battery energy storage system – its first deployment in Australia.

“Community energy projects like this one show what is possible when local determination meets the right technology and the right partners,” Trina Solar group director of Australia and NZ Edison Zhou said on the weekend.

“We are proud that Trinasolar’s solar modules, tracker and storage solutions could play a part in making it a reality, demonstrating that advanced clean‐energy technology is no longer just for large-scale developers, it is accessible to communities too.”

Smart Commercial Energy shared the project’s milestone on LinkedIn, saying it will generate enough electricity to power 500 homes in Goulburn.

“Smart is proud to have served as principle EPC on this project, helping bring this ambitious clean energy project to life after so many years, alongside a range of great partners and a local community determined to make a difference,” the company said.

The solar farm is completing final commissioning and is expected to be fully connected to the grid in coming weeks.

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