MASH-wide news

Interest in the MASH2 community solar bulk-buy is proving so strong that the organisers, the Hub Foundation, have scheduled five more info meetings for interested residents in Castlemaine and Kyneton.

Three meetings will be at the Castlemaine Senior Citizens Hall on Tuesday 11 August, Thursday 20 August and Wednesday 26 August, all at 5.00-6.30pm. Then MASH2 moves south – for the first time – to Macedon Ranges and will hold two meetings at the Kyneton Mechanics Institute on the evening of Wednesday 21 October. The first session will be 5.00-6.30pm followed by another at 7.00pm-8.30pm.

Around 250 people attended the six info meetings we held in June and July, said Jo Kaptein, Project Officer at the Hub Foundation.

Probably the most useful part of these meetings for most people is the Q&A. We make sure that at least 40 minutes is allowed for this. We find that many people are extremely well-informed about solar and that they appreciate the chance to ask questions not just of us, the project organisers, but also to put their more technical questions to a solar installer.

It was great having heavyweight input from Morgan Kurrajong, the owner of Universal Power and Light, one of the solar installers for MASH2, who came to all meetings. Thanks Morgan!

Already over 200 people have registered for MASH2 and over 50 orders have been placed – all since June 9. Installations started on July 16 and according to the first customers, Helen and Bob Long, “the installation went very smoothly, it looks great and we’re rapt that we’ve finally managed to go solar.”

For more information about MASH2 Info Meetings, visit our web page or call 0455 589 065.

Bob and Helen Long of Castlemaine became the first family to have solar installed under MASH2. According to Bob: ‘The installation went very smoothly, it looks great and we’re rapt that we’ve finally managed to go solar. We’re now looking forward to seeing the savings on the bills and the cut in our CO2 emissions”.

Also, there was standing room only at the info session held at the Kangaroo Hotel in Maldon and the total number of people registering for solar in this round passed 180.

Shading issues

The Longs’ roof is partly shaded for a few hours each day by a huge heritage tree. So how are shading issues managed in MASH2? If a standard inverter had been used, then shading of just one panel would have resulted in all the panels failing to work during the time of the shading. The solution was to put a micro-inverter on each panel. Although they’re a little more expensive, they allow most of the panels to work most of the time and good $ savings to be earned.

Home visits appreciated

When the average non-MASH punter arranges for a solar installation over the phone – after speaking to a person from New Delhi or Bombay – the placement of the panels and inverter will be decided remotely by looking at a satellite picture of your house. No-one will visit your house to check. In contrast, the MASH2 price includes the cost of an expert carrying out a site inspection and discussing any questions with you. Our experience is that people really value this opportunity to get things right.

Windpower in the news

Two years ago I carried out a study of the situation at Waubra near Ballarat where 150 huge turbines surround the town of 500 people. 18 visits to the area, seven overnight stays and many hours of interviewing resulted in a series of DVDs. If you’re interested, the 12 minute summary can be viewed at vicwind.org.au/waubra-videos.

A cosy fire and a private room in Australia’s one and only ‘Kangaroo Hotel’, was the setting for the MASH2 info meeting on Tuesday 14 July, 2015. With just a handful of people registered in advance, the organisers weren’t sure how many people would brave the bitter cold evening to come along to hear about the MASH2 community solar bulk-buy offer in Maldon.  So at 10 minutes to 7pm, when more seats were needed, Jo Kaptein, Project Officer for MASH2 started to get the feeling that this meeting was going to prove popular. And this proved correct. In all around 40 people came with some having the patience and good humour to stand or perch on the arms of sofas. Dips and nibbles provided by MASH2, plus free wine and beer for early entrants helped to create a lovely informal atmosphere.

Solar already popular in Maldon

Already 22% of homes in Maldon have solar rooftops. This is impressive and compares favourably with Castlemaine at 23% and larger towns like Kyneton and Woodend at 16%. It is also impressive given that many of the homes in Maldon are in a heritage overlay and/or on the Victorian Heritage Register. If a home is in a heritage overlay, the homeowner will need a planning permit from Council* (at just over $100) if the panels will be visible from a street or from a public park. In these situations, the solar installer will look for an alternative location for the panels that isn’t street facing. If your property is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, you must approach Heritage Victoria for a heritage permit.

Some owners of heritage homes prefer to have the panels located on a roofline that isn’t street facing purely for aesthetic reasons – but there again others want to proudly display them on the front. Everyone is different! This is a situation where the free home visit from a MASH2 installer proves valuable as the homeowner can talk through the options with someone who is highly knowledgeable and can advise on the different solar output that will be generated with panels on different roof locations (ie east/west v.s. north).

And a big thankyou to Adam at the Kangaroo Hotel

It was great to have the support of Adam Schmidt, Owner of the Kangaroo Hotel in Maldon. Adam provided the venue for free and kindly let the MASH2 team put up the MASH2 banner on his hotel frontage which no doubt was one of the reasons why the event was so well attended. Thank you Adam!

 

*If your house is in a Heritage Overlay, you will need a planning permit if the panels will be visible from a street, or from a public park. If the works are under $10,000 the cost for a permit is $102, and the permit may take up to 60 days.