Yackandandah takes another step closer to 100% renewable energy

One Step Off The Grid

Yackandandah has moved one step closer to reaching its 100 per cent renewable energy target for 2022 after 10 public buildings in the Victoria town flicked the switch to solar last week.

The public buildings have added a combined 74kW of solar to the town’s renewable capacity, with the public hall, where an opening ceremony was held, adding 11kW of solar, along with a 13kWh battery and a Mondo Ubi smart controller.

The 100 per cent renewable energy target by 2022 is being driven by a community energy group called Totally Renewable Yackandandah, and has gathered the support of the local grid operator Ausnet, which is interested in how to manage the shift to distributed energy, as well as the state government.

Ausnet and its offshoot Mondo recently won a Clean Energy Council innovation award for the work in Yackandandah, and the Victoria government has contributed $104,000 from the Renewable Communities Program for the latest installations with an extra $84,000 raised locally.

Totally Renewable Yackandandah chairperson Matthew Charles-Jones says the town is getting close to half-way towards its target, and is still confident of reaching its target by the appointed time.

Among the initiatives is the creation of a new community energy retailer Indigo Power, which will help encourage more installations through the use of power purchase agreements.

To read the full story on RenewEconomy’s sister site, One Step Off The Grid, click here…