Transcript Introduction - Office of Environment and Heritage

Welcome to the
Growing Community
Energy webinar
1
Agenda
 Background to Growing Community Energy
 Designing your grant project
- Grant eligibility and assessment criteria
 Application process
 Further information and contacts
Background to Growing Community Energy
Growing Community Energy in NSW
 NSW Government is
strongly committed to
supporting community
energy
 Facilitate community
ownership of renewable
energy projects
(Renewable Energy Action
Plan, Action 12)
Grant program objectives
 Help to grow the community energy sector
 Provide access to funding for community energy
projects to progress through the early project
stages
 Support strong models of community energy
 Foster partnerships between communities,
businesses, and councils
Grant program design
 Informed by a strategic review from the Institute of
Sustainable Futures
 Input from 2013 grantees
 Feedback from community energy stakeholders
Key information
 $700K funding is available for early stage projects
 Each grant $5K -$50K
 Projects up to $70K may be considered for
innovative business models
 Projects must demonstrate community leadership
and benefits
 Partnerships are encouraged
 Contact with your Regional Coordinator essential
Designing your grant project
> Grant eligibility
Who can apply for funding?
 Community Groups
 Local Government
 Businesses
 Schools and Charities
 Important: projects must be community driven
 Your organisation or your partner organisation
must be incorporated
Types of eligible projects
 Located in NSW
 Projects that include community engagement and
ownership will rank highly
 Contact with the Regional Coordinator essential
 Contact with your local council encouraged
 Community must benefit from the final project
outcome.
How to define community benefit and leadership
 Benefits must flow from this project to the broader
community
 The community must lead the project
 Benefits are normally monetary and derived from
community ownership
 You need to demonstrate how the community
leads the project
What OEH will fund
 Community renewable energy and/or energy
efficiency projects
 Projects must be in the development phase
 Projects that involve the community in the process
of development of a project
 Projects that have the potential to deliver tangible
outcomes to the community
What will not be funded
 Capital expenditure
 We don’t fund resource mapping i.e. wind or solar
 Duplication of existing information, such as
templates for existing business models
 Projects without community dimension
 Projects that won’t result in a viable stand-alone
community energy business model
 Financially unviable business models
Community energy implementation stages
Ison and Hicks (2014)
Eligible technologies
 May use any commercially available and proven
technologies
 For bio-energy projects please provide extra
details (overview of the technology)
 Generation must be more than 70kW
 Integrating RE and EE is encouraged
Designing your grant project
> Assessment criteria
Assessment criteria
 Relevance and appropriateness of grant project
and business model
 Technical feasibility of grant project and business
model
 Capacity to deliver the grant project
 Value for money of the grant project
 Financing arrangements for the business model
 Community engagement and ownership
Local government involvement
 Councils are encouraged to support and partner
with community groups
 Committees of council are not considered
community groups
 Council facilities may be a host site for projects
 Any projects with councils as a partner need to
demonstrate community leadership and
community benefit of the project
Business involvement
 We welcome business involvement
 Projects must demonstrate
community benefits and be driven
by the community
 E.g. REPower Shoalhaven and the
Shoalhaven Heads Bowling Club
 Great opportunities to include
energy efficiency to increase your
project’s viability
Community engagement
 Demonstrate how you will engage with your
broader community
 We will prioritise projects that benefit low income
communities
 Many ways to involve low income communities
 You may consider partnering with a social housing
provider
Application process
 Consult with your Regional Coordinator early
 Applications must be a Word document emailed to
[email protected]
 Include any letters of support
 Closing date is Monday 12.00pm 15 December,
2014
Growing Community Energy timeline
 Applications due 15 December 2014
 Applications will be reviewed by a panel
 Funding agreements will be developed by
30 March 2015
 One year grant project delivery April 2015 to March 2016
 Final report lodged by 30 April 2016
Further information and contacts
OEH
 Contact your Regional Coordinator: Guidelines p.10
 OEH Community Energy – Library & Tools
http://environment.nsw.gov.au/communities/clean-energy-tools.htm
Ison & Hicks (2004) Community owned renewable energy: A How To
Guide, commissioned by OEH, Community Power Agency.
Clean Energy Council’s Guide to Installing Solar PV for Businesses
in NSW
 Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Finance Guide -
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/business/project-financing.htm
Further information and contacts
Other Sources
 Embark wiki - www.embark.com.au
 Community Renewable Energy in Scotland www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Energysources/19185/Communities
 UK Government Community Energy Guidance www.gov.uk/community-energy