Solar aid for localities vulnerable to bushfires
Victoria's Emergency Solar Installation Program Transforms Community Facilities
Victoria is rolling out a $1 million solar installation program across regional communities, with a focus on creating emergency safe places and relief centres during bushfires and extreme weather events. The initiative, led by RACV Solar, is part of broader Victorian government initiatives to improve energy resilience and safety in homes.
The program is particularly important, according to RACV Solar Chief Executive Andy McCarthy, due to the increasing bushfire-prone and extreme weather-vulnerable regions in Victoria. McCarthy emphasizes the importance of energy resilience during natural disasters, stating that such events will become more frequent.
Each installation includes rooftop solar and a battery to provide backup power in case the grid goes down. The solar installations are not limited to power savings, but also focus on ensuring community facilities can function during emergencies. During the 2020 bushfires, Rowen Park in Tallangatta provided critical infrastructure to the emergency services.
The Climate Safe Rooms pilot program provides up to $10,000 for energy upgrades in eligible homes, including installation of solar panels alongside heating/cooling and insulation to create emergency safe spaces. This initiative is part of several Victorian programs supporting solar installations and energy upgrades in regional and urban communities.
Completed installations have been made in Omeo, Tallangatta, Wairewa, Wodonga, Goongerah, Clifton Creek, Yea, Aireys Inlet, Calivil, Anglesea, Heathcote, and Dederang. The funding for the solar and battery systems provides an average of $43,200 per installation. Twelve more installations will follow at sites including Winchelsea, Hamilton, Harrietville, Hawkesdale, Warrnambool, Balmoral, and Mirranatwa.
The solar and battery systems are being installed at sporting clubs, recreation centres, community halls, sporting grounds, and recreation reserves. Peter Haysey, from Tallangatta Sports Centre, reiterates the importance of community buildings during extreme weather events. He states that the installed system equips the town to provide emergency backup power in the event of any future natural disaster.
The new installations are seen as a necessary step in preparing for extreme weather events by Jamie McKenzie, Anglesea Football Netball Club president. He considers the new installations as an effective response to emergencies. The RACV solar program aims to support communities with solutions that are fit for purpose, not just to save on electricity, but to provide power when critically needed.
The RACV solar program is designed to address the increasing need for energy resilience in regional Victorian communities. The initiative has reached its halfway mark in a two-year program of installations. The program not only increases power resilience during emergencies but also reduces energy bills and carbon emissions, improves thermal comfort and safety during extreme weather events, supports consumer protections and safety standards, and provides skills development for community-led solar repair training.
- The focus of the solar installation program, as part of broader Victorian government initiatives, extends beyond power savings and energy resilience, venturing into the realm of environmental science, particularly climate-change mitigation, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions.
- The industry, led by RACV Solar, is not only providing renewable energy solutions for community facilities but also financing these installations, with each solar and battery system costing an average of $43,200, funded by a $1 million grant.
- The $1 million solar installation program, designed to increase energy resilience and safety in regional communities, also emphasizes the importance of environmental-science education, as illustrated by the community-led solar repair training offered as part of the program.
