Pyrenees Archives - MASH: Community Solar Bulk-Buy

Solar for Wineries and Farmers – Information Meeting near Avoca

99kW solar installation on Burkett Orange Farm, Robinvale – installed through the bulk-buy program organised by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance

Wineries and farmers looking to slash their electricity bills are invited to attend an information meeting to be held at the Blue Pyrenees Estate, near Avoca, on Tuesday 18 May.

Hosted by the MASH Community Solar Bulk-Buy in partnership with Pyrenees Shire Council, those attending will learn about the solar installations at Robinvale Winery and Burkett Orange Farm. Both organisations recently had large solar power systems installed through the bulk-buy with the cost offset by substantial grants from Agriculture Victoria.

To be eligible for a grant – worth $20k to $250k – you must be a Victorian primary producer with total on-farm energy bills of at least $8,000 a year.

The deadline to apply for Agriculture Victoria’s free energy assessment is 15 July 2021, which is the first stage in the grant process.

To register for this information meeting– and to find about more about the MASH Community Solar Bulk Buy – please call 1300 466 274 or visit https://mash.org.au/solar-events/

Event details:

Blue Pyrenees Estate, 656 Vinoca Rd, Avoca, Vic 3467, Tuesday 18 May, 5.15pm-6.30pm

About MASH

The MASH (More Australian Solar Homes) Community Solar Bulk-Buy is a project of the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance, a not-for-profit organisation that supports councils in central and northern Victoria with projects that encourage the uptake of renewable energy. Visit mash.org.au

Strong Interest in Solar and Battery Storage at Beaufort Information Meeting

Many thanks to the Pyrenees Shire residents who came to the MASH Solar and Battery Bulk-Buy Information Meeting on Wednesday 3 March 2021. Almost 40 people turned up – with lots of questions about solar & batteries, rebates, feed-in tariffs. The event was opened by Cr Damian Ferrari, Mayor of Pyrenees Shire Council who are partners of the bulk-buy project in this region.

High interest levels in solar and battery storage amongst residents of the Pyrenees Shire

If you weren’t able to attend but would like further information, please visit the MASH Pyrenees web page or call the MASH team on 1300 466 274.

Some of the questions – and the answers provided by the speakers – are recorded below for general interest.

Q: If Powercor says we can’t feed our excess solar power back into the grid, where does the extra power go?

A: The power that can’t be exported goes into a heat sink – so it is lost. The ways around this are: to get a smaller system so use as much as possible of the solar power you generate in your home and have hardly any excess power to export. Another way is to get battery storage but this is pricey.

Q: Can we put solar on our woolshed?

A :That depends on the size and capacity of the cabling from your shed to the meter. This is something we assess with a site inspection.

Q; What incentive does a landlord have to put solar on for their tenant?

A There is a Victorian Government rebate available through the Solar Homes Program where you can get a rebate – worth up to $1,850 – for your own home and also for your investment property, providing your meet the eligibility criteria. See solar.vic.gov.au .

Q: I’m on the 66c feed in tariff. Would I qualify for the State Government Solar Panels rebate?

A: Yes as long as the solar was installed prior to 1 November 2009 and you meet the other eligibility criteria. However you would lose the 66c per kilowatt hour feed-in tariff and go back down to the single rate minimum feed-in tariff which is 10.2c per kilowatt hour.

Q; Has the quality of inverters improved over the last 10 years?

A: Absolutely! 10 years ago it was common to see inverters with just 3 years warranty, now many have 10 or 15 years warranty. They are much more efficient and most of them today have solar generation monitoring via an app.

Q: If the switchboard needs an upgrade, can you do it or do we need to get an electrician to do it?

A: We would do this as part of the installation process with a price ranging from around $300 to $1500.

Q; Can I oversize my solar system by say having 8kW of panels with a 5kW inverter?

A: Powercor, the network distributor for our region, allows you to have 33% more panels than the capacity of your inverter. So with a 5kW inverter, you can have 6.66kW of solar panels installed.

Beaufort MASH Solar Information Meeting Rescheduled for 3rd March

Residents of the Pyrenees Shire and nearby are invited to attend the rescheduled MASH Solar & Battery Information Meeting on Wednesday 3rd of March in Beaufort. This meeting was due to take place on 17 February but had to be cancelled due to the 5-day lockdown.

The meeting on Wednesday 3rd of March will be opened by Mayor Damian Ferrari of Pyrenees Shire Council, partner of the MASH solar and battery bulk-buy. The event will be held in the function room at the Goldfields Recreation Reserve, 39 Park Rd, Beaufort. It will start at 6pm and finish at 7.30pm.

It’s a great chance to:

learn about how solar power systems and battery storage works
get an overview of what MASH is and the solar power & battery systems available through MASH, as well as MASH’s partnership with Pyrenees Shire Council
get the information you need in order to compare difference solar power & battery systems with confidence
find out about government rebates for solar power and battery storage systems and how to apply, as well as eligibility criteria
how to work out whether solar and/or batteries is a good financial investment for you and what bill savings you might expect
the opportunity to put your questions to the MASH team

To comply with Covid safety rules, we ask that anyone who’d like to attend registers in advance so that we can ensure that the number of people attending is within the capacity limits of the venue. Please call the MASH team on 1300 466 274 to register or complete the online registration form here.

Lockdown impact on MASH Solar Information Meetings

As a result of the Victorian Government’s 5-day lockdown starting Friday 12 February, the solar bulk-buy meetings we had scheduled for 16 and 17 February in Maryborough and Beaufort have been cancelled. Once this lockdown period has finished, we will reschedule these information meetings and re-announce them on our website, with venue, date and timing details. None of our other scheduled information meetings for later in February, March or April are affected and they will go ahead, assuming that the lockdown period ends and the rules around Covid-19 safety allow this to happen.

With over 80 people registered to attend the two meetings on 16 and 17 February, this is disappointing news for everyone involved but we will be rescheduling the meetings when the lockdown period is over.

Aerial view of Maryborough: location for MASH Solar Info Meeting which will be rescheduled once the lockdown announced on 12 February 2021 has ended.

Change of venue for MASH Information Meeting in Beaufort

Due to a greater than expected interest in the MASH Information Meeting in Beaufort scheduled on Wednesday 17th February, 2021 at 7-7.30pm we have changed the venue from Beeripmo Development Centre to Goldfields Recreation Reserve, 39 Park Rd, Beaufort, 3373.

Please note that face masks are mandatory in indoor spaces.

News release: Beaufort & Maryborough Solar Information Meetings

“My power bill has been cut from $6.60 per day to $2.20 per day as a result of installing solar through the bulk-buy so I am delighted with this result.” – Bulk-buy participant, Gerard Maloney

Have you thought about going solar but looking for more information?

Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance in partnership with Pyrenees Shire Council are holding community information meetings on Tuesday 16 February at the Maryborough Community Hub, 48 Burns Street, Maryborough and on Wednesday 17 February at the Beeripmo Development Centre, Beaufort. Both events start at 6.00pm and finish at 7.30pm.

Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance’s Jo Kaptein said that anyone thinking about ‘going solar’ or adding battery storage to their home, farm or business is invited to come along and learn more. That also includes landlords and renters – as there are attractive rebates available for tenanted properties from the state government.

“The meeting will provide attendees with the information they need to decide whether now is a good time to get solar installed or to invest in a battery, as well as explain the various government rebates for solar power and battery storage” she said.

Presenters are from solar & battery bulk-buy – called MASH (More Australian Solar Homes) – which is owned and organised by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance.

MASH was launched in the Pyrenees and Central Goldfields Shires towards the end of 2020 as a partnership project with both councils to encourage the uptake of solar and battery storage in the region.

To learn more about MASH and to register for these events, visit the web page for the Maryborough Info Meeting or the Beaufort Info Meeting or call 1300 466 274.