Renewable projects in the works

THE Community Power Hub Loddon Mallee group is aiming to help power up the region using renewable energy.

Led by the Bendigo Sustainability Group and with funding from Sustainability Victoria, the group is currently working on five projects across the region, including Hazeldene’s Chicken Farm, Bendigo Woollen Mills, Bendigo Foodshare and the City of Mildura.

Project manager Tony O’Laughlin said the organisation engages with a number of sustainability groups and stakeholders to assess which businesses could benefit from solar.

“We’re working with businesses and finding appropriate sites to be able to install rooftop solar,” he said.

“What we do is assist with fitting out the solar system as well as assist with understanding savings and finding funding.”

As well as these projects, the CPH Loddon Mallee is working alongside Bendigo Community Health Services to identify and fundraise for 15 low-income homes suitable for rooftop solar installations.

“We’ve launched that project and we’ll be installing three-kilowatt systems on 15 homes, we’re getting the funding for that so the homes don’t have to pay anything but they get the benefit of generating their own electricity and saving money that,” Mr O’Laughlin said.

The CPH Loddon Mallee is an expansion of CPH Bendigo, responsible for many projects across the region, including installing solar panels at Discovery Science and Technology Centre.

“Bendigo has really become a leader for renewable energy in many ways and what we can do is share that with the rest of the region,” Mr O’Laughlin said.

“There are some groups that are more advanced than others, but the region has so much potential for renewable energy.

“Our opportunity is to take a hold of that and groups to take advantage of that means supporting local jobs, locally sourced energy and supporting the community as well.”