MASH-wide news Archives - Page 13 of 53

Bushfire Resilience Boost for Hepburn

The Hepburn Recreation Reserve – which is both a community sports facility and dedicated place of last resort in the event of a bushfire – now has full protection from power outages thanks to a new 76 panel solar-plus-battery storage system.

$32,000 system fully grant funded

The 25.08kW solar system, with Tesla Powerwall 2 battery, was fully funded by Hepburn Shire Council, Hepburn Wind, the Hepburn Solar Bulk-Buy through the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance and a grant from Bank Australia. The total system cost was $31,818 excluding GST. The contribution from funding partners was Hepburn Shire Council $12,000; Hepburn Wind $4,500; Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance $15,318 with $12,500 of that amount from a Bank Australia grant and $2,818 from the Hepburn Solar Bulk-Buy.

Increases capacity to respond to threat of bushfires

“This system increases the resilience of the Hepburn community and capacity to plan for and respond to the threat of bushfires”, said Cr Licia Kokocinski, Mayor of the Hepburn Shire Council. “In recent bushfire seasons, Hepburn and the wider state have been hit hard by the fires.”

Complete protection from power outages provided by the newly installed, fully grant funded Tesla Powerwall 2 battery at the Hepburn Recreation Reserve.

“During emergency events it is common for the electricity grid to go down, making it harder for designated Neighbourhood Safer Places, like the Hepburn Recreation Reserve, to maintain basic support services,” said Rob Law, Executive Officer at the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance. “This solar and battery system is designed to operate if the grid goes down which will enable the Hepburn Recreation Reserve’s to maintain critical functions during an emergency. The solar-battery system at the Hepburn Recreation Reserve will provide at least one day of power autonomy; more if weather conditions allow as the Tesla Powerwall and solar power system can continue to work independently for any duration if the grid goes down.”

“A great result for the Hepburn community”

“This is another great result for the Hepburn community,” said Jason Dooley, President, Hepburn Football and Netball Club. “Not only will the new system provide power in a blackout but will also reduce power costs to our community organisation and reduce the green footprint of the facility. Our many thanks go to all of the involved parties and funding partners,” said Jason.

“After the Hepburn fires it is important that this community asset is comfortable and a refuge during fire events, as well as ensuring the sporting teams and other community groups that use the site have a constant supply of clean energy,” said Taryn Lane, Manager, Hepburn Wind.

“We’re really proud to help fund this project through our Impact Fund, demonstrating what’s possible for the future of our communities,” said Jarrod Troutbeck, Senior Sustainability Consultant at Bank Australia.

The solar and battery system was designed and installed by Specialized Solar, a Clean Energy Accredited Solar Retailer and supplier to the bulk-buy programs organised by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance.

Ends –

About power usage at the Hepburn Recreation Reserve

Hepburn Recreation Reserve has an average daily electricity usage of 61 kilowatt hours throughout the year. It is a 3-phase site. Power usage is much higher in winter than in summer. Summer power usage is 61 kilowatt hours per day on average.

System details

Solar PV: 25.08kw (76 x 330w Seraphim solar panels and 1 x Fronius SYMO 20kw inverter)
Solar PV generates on average: 88 kilowatt hours per day.
Batteries: 1 x Tesla Powerwall 2 with back up Gateway (usable storage 13.5kwh)
Tesla Monitoring: back to base monitoring of system’s generation, export, self-consumption and battery levels.

Key points:

In the summer period this Solar PV and Battery solution will be able to take care of the usage (61kwh per day average) but in the wintertime it is estimated to take care of one-third of the requirements.
This site is 3-phase so the Tesla Powerwall 2 is only able to back up one of the three phases in the case of a black-out. The system supplier and installer Specialized Solar have, in consultation with the client, designed the system so that it back-ups the light and power load of one phase which will provide the site for at least 1 day of autonomy.
There is the option to add a generator in future if required, and increase the size of the solar and battery system.

Hepburn Recreation Reserve – role during a bushfire

The Hepburn Recreation Reserve is a dedicated Place of Last Resort or Neighbourhood Safer Place (NSP). It is a place of last resort during the passage of bushfire, and is intended to be used by persons whose primary bushfire plans have failed. NSPs are places of relative safety only and they do not guarantee the survival of those who assemble there. Furthermore, there may be serious risks to safety encountered in travelling and seeking access to NSPs during bushfire events. Depending on the direction of a particular fire, it may not be a safer place to assemble than other places within the municipal district.

How much can I save with solar panels?

Jo Kaptein, organiser of the bulk-buy programs run by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance

This article explains how much money a rooftop solar power system can save you.

Step 1: Power generation

First calculate how many kilowatt hours your solar system will generate on average each year. In our part of Victoria, expect a typical unshaded solar system to generate 3.7 kilowatt hours of electricity on average a day for each kilowatt of solar panels installed. For example, a 6.6kW solar system will generate 6.6 x 3.7 kWh per day which is just over 24kWh of electricity. Over a year, that’s 8,913 kilowatt hours of electricity.

Step 2: Solar power usage

Your solar supplier will calculate what percentage of total solar electricity generation will be used in your home and how much will be exported to the grid. This is generally done by reviewing your electricity bill. To get exact usage information go to powercor.com.au/customers/myenergy/

A usage rate of 40% is fairly conservative and should be achievable if your solar system is sized correctly.

Step 3: Usage savings

By using the solar power generated by your system, you are saving money because you don’t need to buy it from your retailer. The average price for daytime electricity in Victoria is around 25c per kilowatt hour. To check if you are getting a good deal, go to compare.energy.vic.gov.au

If you are using 40% of the total electricity generated by your system, for a 6.6kW solar system you will use 8,913 kWh x 40% = 3,565 kwh a year. Multiple that by 25c to get the savings for using solar powered electricity, rather than grid electricity. That’s 3,565 kWh x 25c = $891 a day.

Step 4: Payment for solar exports

From 1 July, the minimum mandated amount for those on a single rate tariff is 10.2c/kWh (some retailers will offer more). The annual credit you might expect for exporting 60% of your solar generation to the grid for a 6.6kW solar system is 8,913kWh x 60% x 10.2 cents = $545.

Step 5: Calculate your total savings

Just add together the two amounts from steps 3 and 4. For a 6.6kW system, this works out as total annual savings of $1,437.

Learn more

Find out more about the costs and benefits of going solar at the MASH Solar Bulk-Buy’s online Zoom meeting on Thursday 11 June from 5-6pm. Register here. Alternatively, call us on 1300 466 274 to request a quote.

Beat the Battery Rebate Cut

Powerwall battery installed through the MASH bulk-buy program

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working on the MASH community solar bulk-buy for the last five years, it’s this….government rebates can have a truly massive impact on demand. This can be good in lots of ways, particularly when the rebates are attractive as they are now. But it can also cause challenges when rebate values change, especially when they drop and the change comes in quickly.

Value of rebate to drop from 1 July

This is what is happening now. On Friday 22 May, Solar Victoria announced that the value of the battery storage rebate for households will drop by $664 for applications from 1^st July 2020. The maximum value of the battery rebate is currently $4,838. The cut means that the value drops to $4,174 (maximum). That’s a 14% drop in value, which is significant in my book!

Who can beat the cut?

The good news is that if you already have 5kW (or more) of solar panels installed on your home – and you meet the eligibility criteria (check this at solar.vic.gov.au) – there’s still time to apply for the battery rebate at the current value through the MASH bulk-buy program. However, you’ll need to act quickly as one of the requirements is that Powercor approve connection of the battery to the grid and this can take a few days (and the timing of this is out of our control). Plus there’s only around small supply of battery rebates left for this financial year (56 as of 28 May).

If you don’t have 5kW of solar panels installed and you were hoping to get the rebate at the current maximum value of $4,838, unfortunately this is no longer possible. This is because the solar panels need to be installed first and signed off by an independent electrical inspector before you can apply for the battery rebate. The installation process – from quote to installation to sign-off by the inspector – takes around 4-6 weeks through the MASH program (this is fairly typical for most installers). By the time this has happened, we will be in July so passed the deadline of 1^st of July.

Impact on out-of-pocket cost

What difference does this make to the amount you need to pay to get a Powerwall installed at your home? Currently, if you have 5kW or more of solar installed and you want a Powerwall, the cost is $9,990 inc GST through MASH for a standard installation assuming you meet the eligibility criteria for the rebate. From 1^st July, the out-of-pocket cost rises to $10,654. If you want to get the solar as well (say 5.28kW through MASH), the out-of-pocket cost for solar+battery will be $15,691 from 1^st July (assuming you are eligible for the battery rebate).

There’s no doubt that battery storage is still a big ticket outlay. Typically payback is still 10 years at best – so for lots of people their reason for installing a battery is generally not purely financial. More commonly, it’s about protection from power outages (Powerwall does provide this) and greater energy self-sufficiency.

Solar panels rebate situation

For anyone thinking of installing solar panels and wondering if the rebates are changing, the answer is yes they are changing but only by $38. Right now, the maximum solar panels rebate from Solar Victoria is $1,888; from 1^st July it will be $1,850. The interest-free loan available through Solar Victoria (in addition to the rebate) will also drop by the same amount.

Rooftop solar still provides an excellent financial return for most households particularly with the rebates as they stand. Battery rebates are still amongst the best in Australia – but as the Solar Homes program rolls out the battery rebates to new postcode areas as part of its 10-year program, it is likely that the value of this rebate will continue to drop each year. Hopefully the price of batteries will also fall so that they becoming increasingly affordable.

To learn more about MASH and request a quote, visit mash.org.au or call 1300 466 274.

This article was written by Jo Kaptein, organiser of the solar bulk-buy programs through the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance.

Solar battery rebates drive up demand

Interest in battery storage is high at the moment, based on enquiries we are seeing through the MASH solar bulk-buy. It is driven by a desire to become more independent from electricity retailers and the mains grid, protection from power outages and also to cut power bills.

Battery rebate currently up to $4838 – but will drop from 1st July 2020

The good news is that the Victorian Government is supporting the uptake of battery storage with a generous rebate – worth up to $4,838 – through its Solar Homes program (available up to 30 June 2020; after this date the maximum value of the rebate will drop to $4,174). For the 2019/2020 financial year, up to 1,000 battery rebates are available to owner-occupied households in an increasing number of postcode areas. Fortunately, new postcodes in Mount Alexander Shire, Bendigo and the Macedon Ranges Shire were recently added to the ‘eligible’ list, driving up demand for battery storage in our area.

Eligible postcode areas

Eligible postcodes include most of the Macedon Ranges Shire – except for Macedon (3440) – Mount Alexander Shire – except for Maldon/Baringup (3463), Sutton Grange/Metcalfe (3448) and Newstead/Welshmans Reef (3462) and most of the City of Greater Bendigo. (For a full list of eligible postcodes visit Solar Victoria’s website).

A couple of people from Metcalfe have asked, ‘Why have we been excluded?’. The Solar Victoria website that for a postcode to be eligible it must be a high growth suburb and have high solar PV penetration. My guess is they couldn’t extend the rebate to all regions at once and will continue to rollout to more postcodes over the coming months and years.

What impact does the rebate have on the out-of-pocket cost of a Powerwall 2?

What impact does the battery rebate have on the price of a battery through the MASH bulk-buy?

It brings down the price of the Tesla Powerwall 2 battery (arguably one of the most popular and powerful residential home battery systems) to $9,990. To be eligible*, you need to have at least 5kW of solar panels and for the property not to already have received a rebate through the Solar Homes program. You can install 5kW of solar panels and then install a battery as part of the same order however you’d only be able to apply for either the solar panels rebate (up to $1,888) or the battery rebate (up to $4,838) – not both.

The Tesla Powerwall 2 is warrantied for 10 years. The payback for most households is at least 10 years – sometimes longer. So why get one?

A big reason is to increase the property’s resilience to power outages; particularly true if you are running systems at your home that you don’t want compromised by a blackout. One example was a homeowner in Glenlyon who wanted a Powerwall to run his water pumps in order to keep his home protected from bushfires if the power went out. Another reason is as a way of overcoming export limitations imposed by the network distributor.

For anyone interested in learning more about battery rebates and the Tesla Powerwall 2, register for our next online meeting on Thursday 28 May from 5pm-6pm. Visit mash.org.au to register or request a quote. Alternatively call 1300 466 274.

*Visit solar.vic.gov.au for eligibility criteria.

$1m boost for community energy projects

The state government announced yesterday 21 May 2020, a $1m boost for community energy projects in rural Victoria, including the area covered by the MASH community solar bulk-buy. This would include projects using solar power and/or battery storage systems. The funding will support projects that:

Deliver benefits to the participating community.
Utilise technology that is a commercially-ready renewable energy project or new energy generation, storage and technology.
Implement community energy retailing in Victoria.

Deadline for applications: 2pm, 8 June 2020.

Thank you Mt Alexander Sustainability Group!

The MASH team would like to thank Mt Alexander Sustainability Group (MASG) for its ongoing support of the MASH Solar Bulk-Buy. They’ve supported us pretty much from day 1 (which was 5 years ago). The results that the MASH project has been able to achieve is due in large part to the support of sustainability groups and councils across the region where we work. A big thank you to MASG and all our partners!