General News
30 August, 2024
Solar farm powers Newstead
Sixteen years on, Newstead residents can finally tap into locally generated electricity following the opening of a much-awaited solar and battery project.
Boasting a three megawatt (MW) solar farm and an onsite five MW hour battery energy storage system, the Newstead Community Energy Project could power the town two times over.
It is the only community-led initiative of its kind in the state, realised through a partnership between local group, Renewable Newstead and electricity retailer Flow Power — with the facility’s ownership and operation taken on by the company.
The town’s solar goals were further backed by an investment of $1.1 million from the State Government for the project.
Creating a sustainable future for Newstead has long been on locals’ minds, since the idea first germinated in 2008.
A decade and a half later, with the launch of its unique renewable project last week, the community is setting an example for the rest of Victoria.
“This is a great [outcome] for our small community that’s taken the reins and worked so hard for so long to shape our collective future,” Renewable Newstead convenor Geoff Park said.
“Newstead can rightly take a bow.”
Around 400 households are situated in the town, and the group’s original target was to get half the dwellings connected.
Now with nearly 100 homes on board, Mr Park said the goal is well within reach — but ultimately, a positive outcome is not entirely dependent on the number of people who sign up.
“We think we’ll get to our 200 household target. There’s also a lot of interest from people outside of town,” he said.
“At the end of the day, we wanted to enable locals who can’t afford to put panels on their roof, to be able to tap into solar that’s just down the road.
“But it’s impossible to get everyone involved, that’s not even the measure of success — the fact that we haven’t gotten any opposition to the farm, that shows we’re successful.”
The battery and solar farm will feed renewable electricity directly to the grid, generating enough clean energy for up to 1000 homes.
Communities beyond Newstead can also harness the power of the project.
“Those interested in signing up can get in touch with us and we can guide them through that process,” Mr Park said.
“We’ve got a local community benefit program for those who want electricity from the farm — they can decide to donate [some] money to a group in Newstead.
“It’s a pretty neat thing because it benefits [everyone].”
While Maryborough residents could eventually switch to solar through Newstead, what would it take for it to develop a similar project for itself?
A lot more than ample sunshine, according to Mr Park.
“Maryborough is a lot bigger than Newstead so if a farm was to be built to serve the town, it would have to be 10 times bigger than ours,” he said.
“The larger it is, the more challenges there are.
“We have had to work through quite a number of years to just sort, test and refine our ideas to see what was most appropriate for us — residents in Maryborough would have to put in the same [effort].
“We are very happy to talk to anybody who’d like to find out more.”
What Newstead is providing the rest of the state, is a “powerful template” to follow, Flow Power CEO Matthew van der Linden said.
“Newstead is a community of passionate, forward-thinking, engaged individuals who are demonstrating the change that is necessary for a successful energy transition,” he said.
“This requires not just the support, but the active participation of energy literate communities and households.
“Critically, when energy is cheapest is when the grid is most powered by renewables and by linking the two through their retail plan, Newstead residents will be playing their part in actively driving Australia’s energy transition.”
To learn more about the Newstead Energy Project visit: flowpower.com.
au/newstead-energy-project