Yackandandah closer to totally renewable

Ten public buildings in Yackandandah, Victoria have switched to solar, taking the town another step closer to reaching its 100% renewable energy target. Led by community energy group Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY), the town is committed to powering the area with 100% renewable energy by 2022.

The new installations were officially opened at the Yackandandah Public Hall, which has installed 11 kW of solar panels, 13 kWh of battery storage and a Mondo Ubi smart energy controller. The battery allows daytime energy to be used in the evening and can support continued operation during mains power outages.

The public buildings project has added an additional 74 kW of solar to the town and is expected to generate 102 MWh annually, the equivalent power needed to supply 18 homes.

TRY Chairperson Matthew Charles-Jones said Yackandandah is pioneering the future of energy.

“Yackandandah is proud to be leading on what the future of energy will look like. Not only will the public benefit from cheaper energy costs for public buildings, but with smart technology all these buildings will be linked up to the Yackandandah mini grid,” he said.

“Community energy hubs combine local renewable energy generation, storage and energy sharing, giving our communities control over their energy future. TRY has projects underway to add community-scale generation and storage to create a genuine, reliable, resilient and affordable local energy market.”

The Yackandandah mini grid will be connected through local community energy company Indigo Power and Mondo’s Ubi smart controller.

Image caption: Representatives from public buildings, plus Indigo Shire CEO Trevor Ierino and Indigo Shire Mayor Cr Bernard Gaffney (far right). Image courtesy of TRY.