Planning for transition

• In conclusion, the ongoing development of generation, storage and delivery technologies need to be considered as to how these can be managed and harnessed within the context of energy delivery by communities. Examples from around the world and at home need to form the incentive for further roll-out of successful and innovative solutions. Governments need to marshal a commitment to providing incentives and regulatory assistance to this significant contribution to dealing with climate change, here and around the world. 

2.         Benefits community owned energy programs offer:

• Community owned energy initiatives contribute to a stronger, more resilient, distributed energy system and can be an important step along the way to a transition from centralised to distributed power delivery.
• A number of relatively small locally owned and managed systems can provide increased resilience when combined with other energy infrastructure e.g. Gas turbines.
• Builds human capital, community cohesion and mutual social support and allows community self-direction and a degree of economic resilience.
• They could address some of the needs of burgeoning numbers of self-employed ABN s being registered across local governments (some at 500% increase) and also create a cross generational focus of interest within
• Flexibility and responsiveness - creates the opportunity to build systems with diverse generation technologies i.e. wind power with micro-hydro with solar and bio-digestion in all linked through a "smart grid" network.
• Allows the community to have some control over the type of service and product that suits the demographics/cohort. It's helpful to get a broad suite of business models so there are many templates on offer for new initiatives which are adaptable to the renewable energy sources available to local communities - e.g. coastal communities can build in wave power, mountain communities hydro etc.
• It could provide flexible pricing that supports the various socio-economic levels within the community and supports them as they charge for each household. Keeps money in the local community with profits distributed locally.
• The energy options could be sourced from local resources which could contribute to a better and/or more direct way of managing environmental impact (local management would have immediate insight into what damage might happen - with expert input and deliberative decision-making)
• Government failed to stop gold plating and therefore should pick up the tab. All solar panels etc to be financed by local government and paid through rates.
• Helpful to consider a community energy project as risk mitigation for energy security. This idea can capture the imagination of the communities concerned and wider policy initiatives. A number of smaller systems and networks provide resilience in terms of extreme weather in a time of climate change.
• Allows for control of costs, upkeep of technical structures, distribution, quality control, safety and design sustainability and engenders local accountability for long term maintenance.
• Identifying the real costs of current energy production including cost of carbon ( climate change) pollution, health issues etc will make community owned programs more financially viable and if all these costs were included clean energy would be the cheaper option.
• Sense of personal contribution to addressing climate change and an increased sense of community. Can provide an opportunity to participate even if the community is a partner rather than a full owner - no need to miss out, various models could work.
• Can build skills and opportunities locally around local human capital
• Builds awareness of environmental issues through education and training, which leads to local employment.
• Potential for combined grid and off grid systems and addressing the large cost of the end of the grid communities. Decentralised distribution systems can avoid both monopolisation and can prevent mass blackouts etc.
• Scale at a local level enables more precise science, therefore wastage and efficiency can be better reviewed and contained with greater security of supply.

3.            How best to encourage the uptake of community energy projects:

• Set up a Local Energy Foundation and run supporting energy and sustainability workshops. Fund financial grants or loans with financial incentives to run trials and case studies for local communities and demonstration facilities.
• Leadership - make it easy, attractive, social and that enables from the top and is also reflected at the local level. Support the local leadership group and identify and support the early adopters.
• Regulation will be required to achieve a low emission objective ( a price on carbon) Re-introduce a carbon tax. A substantial carbon cost would be both an incentive and a major benefit.
• Create 'How to' manuals together with associated training programs to support community energy projects.
• Place an emphasis on local energy security.
• Nothing happens until you make it happen. Hold local meetings with offers of support to the leadership group. Knock on hundreds of doors and spread enthusiasm. Mass publicity with a press release from the Mayor urging people to sign up. The town or suburb needs EVERYONE on board. Newspaper ads, outdoor signs and letterboxing with wording expressed in terms of the readers interests.
• Build externalities into the real pricing of centralised energy supply. Increase the solar subsidy.
• Engage the local government agencies and use community participatory processes to develop future energy supplies.
• Set up a state-wide community energy "Help Desk" online so that people are not overcome by technical difficulties.
• Demonstrate that a valuable outcome is possible, desirable and deliverable. Promote the spill over benefits to the community of a community financial asset and let them decide what they can do with any profit from their asset.
• Charlie Perkins once said, "Never intellectualize further than you can emotionally carry people" Applies here.
• Human team catalyst: e.g. Men's Health initiative running evening discussions across the country and in city communities to inform and to motivate interest. Target groups that are most vulnerable to energy cost increases such as poor, elderly and young to attend community meetings and build stakeholder engagement.
• Governments at Federal, State and local levels to market the idea across the country.
• Encourage letters to the local paper to promote interest in local projects
• Get a government with the guts to back real change in this area.
• There is a big need for a single National Grid strategy and policy with regulation to cover this. National regulation of the market is essential but the federation structure makes this difficult.
• Recruit legal professionals and government bureaucrats who know how to properly advise local communities and stakeholders.
• Better understand human behaviour and market drivers given the energy and sustainability context.
• Provide accessibility to environmental and energy data that leads to a better understanding of current energy costs/breakdown and undertake a strategic business plan incorporating local and regional energy options.
• Undertake local energy and sustainability opportunity assessments (economic, social, environmental based)

4.         What else can be done to expand community energy projects aside from solar and wind power:

• Follow the development of Battery technology. Lots are being developed beyond Lithium Ion.
• Resource an investigation/audit process for each community.
• Introduce and mandate for low energy public transport.
• Institute support for local neighbourhood organisations e.g. similar to the Neighbourhood Watch model and provide funding along the lines of the Bendigo Bank and its community fund initiatives model.
• Micro hydro solutions; community bio digesters for green waste; smart appliances; smart grids; battery storage break through.
• The unrecognised opportunity is in demand management. Reduce the demand to make the replacement task easier. The immediate target should be energy efficiency.
• Harness bioenergy from solid waste and sanitation using composting toilets for methane and compost. Doorknock and sign up everyone in the town with Councils collecting all food scraps and organic waste as in Nillumbik.
• Grey water can be separated and stored in multi-stories to generate power.
• Explore geothermal options. Research and development through the CSIRO to discover other state research centres of other sources of power like tidal or geothermal.
• Provide grants for Victorian research facilities to collaborate with foreign and interstate research institutions.
• Hold energy trials within communities and provide financial support for entrepreneurial pursuits in the energy sector.
• Provide access to environmental data to support further investigation.
• Introduce impellers into the water supply.
• Build technology to capture energy with absorbing roads and footpaths

5.         Some best practice models from interstate or overseas for supporting community energy ownership options:

• Moreland Energy Foundation. Its vision is to facilitate an active, inspired community tackling climate change with sustainable energy solutions by working with households, businesses, community groups and governments on innovative approaches to implementing sustainable energy supply and reducing energy use. Its values include innovation, honesty, respect, resilience, and team work.
• Yarra Energy Foundation (http://www.yef.org.au/) An independent, for-purpose organisation with a huge ambition – to achieve zero carbon future in the City of Yarra. Their goals is to engage and inspire people who live and do business in the City of Yarra to take practical steps towards this goal. While financed by a financial agreement with the City, it is looking to expand its financial capacity in order to expand its delivery of services.
• Totally Renewable Yackandandah community Sustainable Energy Project. Rethinking electricity use is a key initiative for the proactive management team of Yackandandah Health as they announce the launch of a program incorporating dramatic reductions in their power demands and the installation of 90kW solar panels. Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY) is a community group aiming to switch Yackandandah to be 100% renewable by 2022, partnering with Yackandandah Health in this innovative energy venture.
• Roadmap 2050 (EU) has set itself a long-term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% when compared to 1990 levels by 2050. The Energy Roadmap 2050 explores the transition of the energy system in ways that would be compatible with this greenhouse gas reductions target while also increasing competitiveness and security of supply. To achieve these goals, significant investments need to be made in new low-carbon technologies, renewable energy, energy efficiency and smart grid infrastructure- which is essential in developing a resilient network. Because investments are made for a period of 20 to 60 years, policies that promote a stable business climate which encourages low-carbon investments must begin to be made today.
• Zero carbon Britain 2030: Rethinking the Future describes a scenario in which the UK has risen to the challenges of the 21st century. It is 2030. It has acknowledged its historical responsibility as a long-industrialised nation and made its contribution to addressing climate change by reducing UK greenhouse gas emissions rapidly to net zero.
• Lake Learmonth piggery: waste from 18,00 pigs put into a $1m Italian bio digester funded by EPA Vic. No waste to local lake and $500k of fertilisers and composts pa.
• Scotland Tidal power  www.tidalenergy.eu/scottish-tidal-energy.html The Crown estate and Scottish government are behind a £4bn project to build a number of tidal power sites around the Orkney islands and the Pentland Firth, expected to generate the same amount of power as a nuclear power station. That's 1.2GW of green energy - enough to power up to 750,000 homes. 
  Some estimates have suggested that a combination of tidal and wave power from the area could produce up to 60GW of power. That would represent 10 times Scotland's annual electricity usage. Other studies suggest one-third of the UK's total electricity needs could be met by tidal power alone.
• Eden Project UK. (http://www.edenproject.com/ )An educational charity, connects us with each other and the living world, exploring how to work towards a better future. Nestled in a huge crater in Cornwall, UK, its massive Biomes house the largest rainforest in captivity, stunning plants, exhibitions and stories which serve as a backdrop to its striking contemporary gardens which form a venue for summer concerts and exciting year round family events.
• Powershop (www.powershop.com.au ) energy retailer here in Australia is giving rebate to those clients who are generating solar inputs over and above the regulated feed in tariff by selling green power options . Currently you can by Green Power off them at 35.8 cents (early order) and yet only get 6.5 cents for your solar generated input. However Powershop introduced a new program known as Your Neighbourhood Solar as a chance for customers without solar to support those with solar with a higher feed-in tariff. The plan sold out (100,000 units) and it included a 4 cents/kWh premium and delivered an eventual $9.66 to solar panel holders. It's an initiative any power company could adopt.
• RenewEconomy magazine – Giles Parkinson. www.reneweconomy.com.au
• The World energy council (www.worldenergy.org)  is the principal impartial network of leaders and practitioners promoting an affordable, stable and environmentally sensitive energy system for the greatest benefit of all.
• Formed in 1923, the Council is the UN-accredited global energy body, representing the entire energy spectrum, with more than 3000 member organisations located in over 90 countries and drawn from governments, private and state corporations, academia, NGOs and energy-related stakeholders. The World Energy Council informs global, regional and national energy strategies by hosting high-level events, publishing authoritative studies, and working through its extensive member network to facilitate the world’s energy policy dialogue.
• Danish energy authority – Innovative, Efficient and Sustainable. (https://stateofgreen.com) The Danish Energy Model has shown that through persistent and active energy policy with ambitious renewable energy goals, enhanced energy efficiency and support for technical innovation and industrial development, it is possible to sustain significant economic growth and a high standard of living, while reducing fossil fuel dependency and mitigating climate change. Denmark has reduced the adjusted greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30 pct. since 1990 – and is set to achieve 40%. by 2020. Denmark has the highest contribution of non-hydro renewables in any electricity system worldwide: 46%. in 2013. In 2014, almost 40 pct. of the Danish electricity consumption was based on wind power; by 2020 this figure will be 50%.
• Macedon ranges Sustainability Group (http://mrsgonline.org.au/ ) - Black forest mill solar project, Woodend. The Black Forest Timber Mill in Woodend is to be powered by solar energy thanks to a $100,000 investment by the Andrews Labor Government to support for the installation of a 30 kilowatt solar system at the mill by the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group (MRSG). MRSG is a not-for-profit organisation with about 350 members whose vision is to create and nurture sustainability by promoting local solutions and prosperity across the Macedon Ranges. MRSG will own the solar system and be responsible for project managing its installation, operation and maintenance. The solar system is expected to provide sufficient capacity to meet the needs of mill tenants Artisans of the Mill, which shapes furniture, and TimberSearch, which sources and sells recycled timber.

• Northern rivers and Enova community Energy solar. Enova Community Energy Ltd (www.enovaenergy.com.au/ ) is providing a unique opportunity for participation in building Australia’s first community-owned renewable energy retailing and technology business.  Following a successful capital raise in late 2015, Enova is currently building its operations. As a social enterprise, Enova Energy has been formed by local residents of the Northern Rivers region to focus on delivering environmental and community benefits as well as making returns to community investors.
• City of Lismore, Northern-eastern NSW. Australia’s first solar farms to be co-owned by local government and the community could be completed by the end of the 2015, with the Lismore City Council set to launch a campaign to attract investors to the project in north-eastern NSW – a flagship project building on Lismore’s plans to become the first regional council to be 100 per cent renewable by 2023. This model is simple and low-risk with clear results, which is attractive for local government because it provides surety for the community and for investors. Lismore is launching an innovation in how councils and community do business, with both financial and clean energy returns.
• Tamworth anaerobic digestion installation produces 67000kg of biogas , mainly methane gas and carbon dioxide per annum using waste from Steggles chicken farm.
• Teys Australia (http://business.nab.com.au/teys-australia-invests-60-million-to-reduce-its-carbon-footprint-14067/)  has invested $60 million to reduce its carbon footprint and reliance on fossil fuels, cutting around 113,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. Teys Australia, the second largest beef processing and cattle feeding company in Australia, has invested in upgrading its wastewater treatment plants at Tamworth, Wagga Wagga, Beenleigh and Rockhampton. The changes cut around 113 thousand tonnes of equivalent carbon emissions annually from the atmosphere, which is the same as removing 38,000 cars from Australian roads every single year.
• Agrow Awards Curtain raiser UK (https://agrowawards.com/ )
• Tasmania Hydro. Stored hydro can be used to create electricity to stabilise the grid and store energy.
• Swedish waste to energy initiatives.(http://www.swedishcleantech.se/)  Innovative Waste-to-Energy Program is so effective that Sweden has literally run out of rubbish. The country’s waste management and recycling programs are second to none as only four percent of the nation’s waste ends up in landfills.
• In order to continue fuelling the waste-to-energy factories that provide electricity to a quarter of a million homes and 20% of the entire country’s district heating, Sweden is now resorting to importing trash from the landfills of other European countries. In fact, those countries are paying Sweden to get rid of a source of viable fuel they themselves produced so that Sweden can continue to have the energy output they need, instead of utilising the same waste as an energy source at home. 

6.         Challenges in introducing and supporting community energy projects in metropolitan areas:

• Questions of scale and greater demand than rural areas such as the surface area ratio of people to density.
• Local government must be involved, however community capacity and competence varies across local government areas and a regional approach may prove more effective.
• Number of rental properties work against full engagement. Renters and transient population works against ongoing participation.
• The agendas and conservatism of property developers may be an issue.
• Determining just what we mean by "The Community" in a metro area. Language/cultural barriers together with a lack of neighbourhood cohesion can work against community development.
• Infrastructure which may be lacking within the outer suburbs – which are poorly developed and a challenge to setting up an energy community.
• In some suburbs, street trees reduce the local temperature. Less cooling needed. Question as to how to replicate this across all such suburbs.
• Asphalt roads and pavements have two negative effects on urban environments. Firstly, dark surfaces absorb heat and create a heat island effect and secondly these surfaces are water- impermeable and prevent soil from absorbing water with negative effects on the growth of trees. Melbourne City report revealed that trees reduce the local temperature load significantly.
• Shading by neighbouring properties is a design and planning issue.
• Squandering the productive use of embedded energy in demolished buildings.
• Reducing demand; refining actual use in the home
• Ignorance of the local environment, Trees, etc.
• The cost of energy storage and back up – e.g Tesla batteries etc.
• Issues about the management and administration of the community project including pricing and payment between suppliers and consumers.
• More anonymity and less dependence on community in urban areas.
• Less transmission costs makes it less financially viable particularly where there is a cost of retrofitting existing infrastructure.
• Current regulations favour the incumbent transmission and generators.
• Establishing effective community foundations is a challenge in larger, more anonymous communities.

7.         Some ways to overcome these challenges in metropolitan areas:

• Need to think about the ownership of both property and energy systems
• Finding the land, for instance, through use of roof gardens
• Setting up local structures which are along familiar lines - like Neighbourhood Watch.
• Start small and manageable, set up a model in one suburb as a trial.
• Get community leaders on side from the outset.
• Education and awareness building – aimed at changing mindsets
• Local council engagement and investment in the professional development of Councillors on these issues.
• Land use planning that adopts best practice as part of developer requirements with building codes that include energy elements. Deploy planning regulations/codes/requirements as necessary
• Nationalise all energy again. Take it back to where it should be.
• Create appropriate institutions to govern the programmes and renewable infrastructure.
• Incentivise clean energy power bills.

8.         Major ongoing considerations:

• Building on the capacity for energy variety and local context.
• Private interests and private developers need some form of regulatory control
• Role of proper tariff levels and the need to make any vested interests in changing them transparent - such as the need to deal with political donations/vested interests.
• World class sustainability should be built into new estates and apartment developments.
• It must be led politically. Local groups must come together and lead their politicians through participatory and democratic organisations.
• Successful projects developed and run in the country communities should be used as an inspiration and model for city folk and metropolitan initiatives.
• It's important to develop long term strategies for getting this done.
• Clear goals and objectives with the national network need to be defined and legislation enacted to support those goals.
• Need to be sure that we focus on case studies of successful individual projects and not just the individual technologies.
• Community education, institutions, economic benefits and costs and physical space should be considered, because these are the external factors community-run projects will face.
• We need legislation to enable and promote local production, distribution, sale and growth of community energy initiatives.
• It's important to relate the benefits of community energy infrastructure to Climate Change and Government policies/RET, etc.
• Financial incentives through carbon pricing, and feed-in tariff increases are necessary.
• Focus should be on both the supply and demand sides.
• The future of developments in battery storage technology and heat storage for conversion to base-load power cannot be underestimated.