1 Welcome to the Growing Community Energy webinar

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 ed to  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 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 -

Further information and contacts Other Sources  Embark wiki -  Community Renewable Energy in Scotland - sources/19185/Communities sources/19185/Communities  UK Government Community Energy Guidance -