Victorian community solar ‘bulk-buy’ offer snapped up – 150 households in one month

Rooftop solar demand appears to be booming in rural Victoria, with 150 households from the shire of Mount Alexander registering to install a PV system in just 29 days, in the second round a community-based solar scheme.

The solar bulk-buy initiative, called MASH2, launched a second-round offer less than a month ago, after a highly successful first round led to the installation of 225 solar systems in the Central Victorian shire.

100th-installation-pic-Kath-OConnor-017-380x250_c

The scheme, coordinated by not-for-profit group the Hub Foundation, gives locals access to quality approved rooftop solar at a bulk-buy price. As in the first round, MASH2 offered the extra incentive to participants of promising to install two free solar systems on a community organisation after 100 systems had gone on rooftops. (See the MASH2 system pricing below.)

Screen Shot 2015-07-08 at 1.27.29 pm

According to a progress update released on Wednesday, the MASH2 community solar bulk-buy has already achieved 150 registrations from households in Mount Alexander Shire and nearby, putting it well on target to achieve 150 installations by the end of December.

According to the Hub Foundation, local Castlemaine-based solar installer, Universal Power and Light – which was appointed for MASH2 under contract to the project’s supplier SunEdison Australia (formerly known as Energy Matters) – has had to take on more staff to cope with the high levels of demand resulting from the project.

SunEdison said its preferred approach to community solar projects in regional areas was to use local installers, rather than do the work themselves.

Jo Kaptein, who is project officer at the Hub Foundation, said that as well as the 150 households registering to install solar, around 120 people had attended the scheme’s first five community information meetings.

“This is very encouraging”, Kaptein said, “particularly as Mount Alexander Shire already has one in four households with solar PV systems.”

As we reported here last month, the MASH scheme doesn’t yet include options for energy storage, but Kaptein has told RenewEconomy that both the round 1 & 2 PV systems will be compatible with battery storage when it becomes available at competitive prices “in the next one to four years.”

Comments

7 responses to “Victorian community solar ‘bulk-buy’ offer snapped up – 150 households in one month”

  1. Finn Peacock Avatar

    Is that an unshaded North facing inverter in the picture?

    1. phred01 Avatar
      phred01

      Accelerated life testing is done @ hi temperatures the inverter may not last the warranty period suggest the lucky owner get extended warranty with SMA

    2. sendai Avatar
      sendai

      Five panels on a minimum 2kWp inverter? I don’t think so.

      I’d say it’s East with at least another 5 panels North (where the power lines are)

      1. Jo Kaptein Avatar
        Jo Kaptein

        Yes, that is correct.

  2. john Avatar
    john

    A lot of people have actually got the message that bright sun up there is actually the thing that gives us energy either directly as with PV or indirectly via coal or oil in fact the sun is the driving force of all energy on earth.
    Stored carbon is because of the sun which enabled energy to be stored into a fuel source be it gas, oil or coal.

  3. john Avatar
    john

    I hope everyone can understand it was not god up there that gave us the stored carbon but the historical happenings on earth that stored this energy that we are now exploiting and the rate we are is not in natural balance with any semblance to an equable utilisation of this resource.

  4. EnergySage Avatar
    EnergySage

    Community solar is a great way for anyone to receive solar energy if they cannot do it themselves. If you want to know more check out what EnergySage has to say about it, http://bit.ly/1gnUzre

Get up to 3 quotes from pre-vetted solar (and battery) installers.