Regional Community Energy
This program funds community energy projects in regional NSW to increase renewable energy generation, improve energy reliability and help communities save money on electricity bills.
The program has three streams:
1. Grants from the Regional Community Energy Fund for projects that are innovative or generate on-demand renewable energy and benefit the local community
2. Funding for community energy hubs that improve household and small business access to expert energy advice
3. Funding for regional and remote communities to install emergency backup systems for key disaster management and evacuation locations to increase disaster resilience.
The Regional Community Energy Fund provides grants to community energy projects that create innovative and/or dispatchable renewable energy and benefit the local community.
Applications for the first round of funding have now closed and it has not yet been confirmed if a second round will take place. This page will be updated when further information becomes available.
Under the first round of funding we have awarded grants to seven projects, worth approximately $15.4 million. These projects will unlock nearly 17.2MW in electricity generation and up to 17.9MW/39.3MWh of energy storage, leveraging approximately $36 million in private investment.
Each funding recipient will share their learnings, supporting other regional communities to take control of their energy future.
The seven projects receiving grant funding are listed below.
| Recipient | Project Title | Primary technology and capability | Location (closest town) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Bay Solar Farm Holdings | Byron Bay Solar Farm + Battery Storage Facility | 5 MW Solar PV 5 MW / 10MWh battery |
Ewingsdale |
| Energise Gloucester | Gloucester Community Solar Farm | 0.5 MW Solar PV | Gloucester |
| Community Energy for Goulburn | Goulburn Community Dispatchable Solar Farm | 1.2 MW Solar PV 0.4 MW / 0.8MWh battery |
Goulburn |
| Grong Grong Solar 1 Pty Ltd | Haystacks Solar Garden | 1 MW Solar PV | Grong Grong |
| Manilla Community Renewable Energy | Manilla Community Solar | 4.5MW Solar PV 4.5 MW / 4.5MWh battery 2 MW /17MWh hydrogen energy storage system |
Manilla |
| ITP-NHT DevCo | Orange Community Renewable Energy Park | 5 MW Solar PV Up to 5 MW / 5 MWh battery |
Orange |
| Enova Community Energy Ltd | The Beehive Project - Shared Community Battery Scheme | 1 MW / 2MWh battery | Kurri Kurri |
If you have questions or would like to receive additional information about the program please email communityenergy.program [at] planning.nsw.gov.au.
