www.basscoastpost.com has news on a whole range of community issues in Bass Coast. You can subscribe to receive their regular updates and check out their community diary.
This week they have a feature on community-owned renewable energy. Here’s a section, with info on a forthcoming “community energy forum”. What a great idea! It would be great if we could get that for Bass Coast.
Could Gippsland develop its own community-owned renewable energy?
Several residents, many of them community leaders, attended the inaugural Community Energy Congress in Canberra in June, where presenters from Australia, Japan and Germany covered the full range of topics relating to community energy, with sessions on finance, regulations, the energy sector in general and community development.
Several Gippslanders attended and they will share their enthusiasm and learnings at a forum in Inverloch next week. They include the Bass Coast Mayor Neil Rankine, the chair of the Energy Innovation Co-Operative (EICo-op), Susan Davies, Brad Kijlstra-Shone, formerly at Moreland Energy Foundation and now a local and a director of EICo-op.
They will give a first-hand report on the congress and discuss how community energy projects may be possible in the context of current state and federal government policy settings.
This is the first of a series of meetings to share information and ideas, and to build local interest in community-owned renewable energy.
Everyone is welcome to come along to the community energy forum at the Bunurong Environment Centre, Inverloch, from 7-9pm on Tuesday, September 16.
RSVP to Maddy Harford to maddy.harford@gmail.com or Jillian Verhardt on 0412 114 301 or verhardt@ozemail.com.au.