The Electrify 2515 Community Pilot has received $5.4 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). This will support 500 households in the 2515 postcode to electrify their homes.
I’m not sure if you caught the news earlier today, but I am thrilled to share that today we launched a project demonstrating electrification in Northern Illawarra, NSW - the Electrify 2515 Community Pilot.
This morning, Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, addressed the media in Thirroul announcing funding for the pilot. For two years Rewiring Australia has been supporting a group of local clean energy activists campaigning to host a tech pilot in the 2515 postcode, to demonstrate the clean electrified future, today.
I am excited because we can say this really is a world first. Other pilots have deployed solar or batteries or other clean energy technology but I don’t know of any that have built the whole process around a local grassroots campaign. This is genuine place-based community building. In a world full of so many dispiriting events and trends, this is something that fills me with optimism.
What was announced?
The Electrify 2515 Community Pilot has received $5.4 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). This will support 500 households in the 2515 postcode to electrify their homes. The project will run for two years to study both the installation process and the impacts on the grid. Rewiring Australia and Electrify 2515 are the glue holding the whole thing together at the local level and the project consortium includes energy solutions provider Brighte and the local distribution network, Endeavour Energy.
Electrifying 500 households in a short time will be challenging, and that is the point. Our pilot is a test bed to uncover and understand all the barriers that hold households back from electrification. After the project we will have a practical playbook for households, tradies, industry, government and energy regulators.
Head to the Electrify 2515 website to find out more info.
Rewiring Australia is a non-profit, independent, non-partisan organisation dedicated to representing the people, households and communities in the energy system. We empirically demonstrate and communicate the cost savings, emissions reductions, and energy system benefits of electrification.
Rewiring Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live, meet and work and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Rewiring Australia is a member of Climate Action Network Australia.
