Local community-owed renewable energy provider Hepburn Energy and partners are reporting “huge success” with their recent ‘Hepburn Switch’ event as well as a broader heat pump hot water bulk buy scheme.

They report that all up 78 heat pump hot water systems have been installed with a value of $528,159 – saving 407 tonnes of Co2. And, a result, two local community group facilities will receive a free hot water system. 
To be eligible for a hot water system, the community group must be located within the Hepburn Shire and provide community benefits from the upgrade.  If you know or are part of a local community group that would benefit from a highly efficient heat pump hot water system, you can find the application form here, on the community page of the Hepburn Energy website, or on the heat pump bulk buy page on the z-net website. 

Hepburn Energy is set to become Australia’s first energy park on the distribution network with wind turbines and battery storage at Leonards Hill after funding from the federal government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar program.
The project will see the co-operative install Stage 1 of its planned battery, helping the wind farm put more renewable energy back into the grid when needed most and cutting emissions in line with community targets.

This initial battery is the first stage of a long term project, which looks to eventually install between 5-10MWh and would complement a proposed 5MW (AC) solar farm at the same site.

Hepburn Energy (formerly Hepburn Wind) is the owner and operator of Australia’s first community owned wind farm, at Leonards Hill, just south of Daylesford Victoria. Hepburn Energy is a co-operative with over 2,000 members. The wind farm consists of two 2.05 megawatt turbines called Gale and Gusto providing a total of 4.1 megawatt capacity.

If you’ve ever thought about ditching your climate-change fueling petrol guzzler for an electric vehicle then now might be the time to make it happen with an EV Bulk Buy scheme set to launch in Malmsbury at the Malmsbury EV Expo on 15 April.
Climate action focussed social enterprises, the Good Car Company and Hepburn Energy are
joining forces to bring the 2023 Community EV Bulk Buy to Hepburn Shire and the broader region
of Central Victoria.

In addition to offering affordable second-hand and new EVs a $1000 discount
Voucher will apply to listed EV prices.
If 50 locals join in by buying an electric vehicle through the Bulk Buy, over five years the central
Victorian community will have accumulated to $440,000 in EV benefits and reduced carbon
emissions by 650 tonnes.
Transport is the largest source of carbon emissions in Australian households. Changing your
internal combustion engine car to an electric one saves at least 2.6 tonnes of carbon emissions
every year (assuming the car is charged from the grid).

Australia’s third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and cars are responsible for roughly half of these emissions.
“Hundreds of Australians are now driving 100% electric cars because of our bulk-buy campaigns”
according to company co-founder Anthony Broese van Groenou.
“The EV Bulk Buy will offer more affordable prices for quality used Nissan Leafs, the Peugeot
e2008 SUV, electric vans as well as access to straightforward Novated Leases on new Polestar 2
and Tesla Models 3 and Y,” he said.
Taryn Lane of Hepburn Energy said they had teamed up with the Good Car Company a second
time alongside local climate groups to help people wanting electric cars to get them at a more
reasonable price.
“Buying an EV is a key piece of the climate action puzzle for Australian households, but it’s often
seen as being too expensive for most people. As an affordable pathway, we are pleased to be
running the second EV bulk buy for the region with the Good Car Company and local partners
BREAZE, Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group, Moorabool Environment Group, Trentham
Sustainability Group and Transition Creswick ” said Taryn.
Residents in the region are being invited to join the Hepburn Energy 2023 EV Bulk Buy by signing up online at https://www.goodcar.co/hepburn23.

The campaign runs from 15 April to 15 May and anyone can register to learn more about EVs, receive all event invitations, take a test drive, ask questions, learn about the available models and/or purchase an EV.

COMMUNITY groups keen to get their own community battery, fed by clean renewable energy, up
and going need to make sure they know their stuff first.
That’s the main message as Hepburn Energy releases a new booklet that carefully examines
the potential of community-scale batteries across Central Victoria – and offers clarity on their
opportunities and constraints.
“The community needs to be really cautious about the type of community scale battery they go for,” says key author Marie Lakey.
The booklet’s publication follows a Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance-led project called Community Sparks, funded under the state’s Neighbourhood Battery Initiative, assessing potential of community-scale batteries across the region.

Hepburn Energy and Hepburn Shire Council were key partners on the project.
Drawing on technical analysis from independent consultants, Orkestra, legal research from the University of Melbourne and a social feasibility study from Hepburn Energy, the booklet offers in-depth information about community-scale batteries.
“Our social feasibility study highlighted that community members are interested
in community-scale batteries. With terrible grid reliability in many parts of Central
Victoria, lots of residents are being proactive and looking for a solution,” Hepburn
Energy general manager Taryn Lane says.
Community batteries are proposed as a tool to address this issue. Advocates
suggest they can improve reliability, enable more solar, cut greenhouse gas emissions
and help households save on bills.
But the team at Hepburn Energy have found a more complicated picture.
“When we received technical reports back from Orkestra, we were stunned,” Ms Lane said.
“The conventional battery that many people are advocating for (one located on
the street level, at an electricity transformer) doesn’t seem remotely viable.
“They’re just too expensive, so community members would face an ongoing cost,
rather than saving, and there is a risk of stranded assets with that model.”
The booklet offers clear cautions about some models of community-scale batteries
but other opportunities are presented.
“There’s lots of potential for behind-the-meter batteries. These can be located at
community facilities, or even at an industrial facility, but in a way that offers benefits
back to the community,” Ms Lane says.
The Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance’s Dr David Gormley-O’Brien agrees
and highlights opportunities for community groups to install behind-the-meter
batteries on key infrastructure like community hubs.
“Installing behind-the-meter batteries on key buildings, using lots of solar on
the building, represents a real opportunity to help in emergency situations such as
bushfires or major wind events to enable emergency power supply,” Dr Gormley- O’Brien says.
“And if the battery is large enough we can get a surplus and participate in the
energy market.
“For a 300-kilowatt battery you are looking at something around $400,000 but we’re expecting prices to come down.”
Backup power systems are a “no-brainer”, Ms Lane says.
“Particularly for regional areas such as our shire, and another viable model is
batteries co-located at a community generator, such as what we’re proposing at
Hepburn Energy.”
The report examines these different models in detail, offering guidance on relevant regulations and case studies of existing community-scale batteries.
“We hope this booklet can answer lots of the questions we’ve been receiving about this technology,” Ms Lane said.
More information and downloadable copies of the report are available through Hepburn Energy.
Release of the report examining the community battery pros and cons comes as Hepburn Energy also facilitates a second heat pump hot water bulk buy from March 16.
Government rebates now mean premium heat pump hot water systems are cheaper than ever before, with bulk-buy participants able to save on a new hot water heater.
After the success of the 2021 round 1 sold-out heat pump bulk buy, Hepburn
Energy is now extending their round 2 bulk buy beyond the Hepburn Shire to
include neighbouring areas.
Hepburn Energy and installation partner t2zero will be running two webinars to
demystify the technology, explain the bulk buy process and give community members
an opportunity to ask questions.
Business executive with t2zero, Jürgen Rhyon says the benefits of heat pump
technology are clear as storage water heaters account for a substantial component of
household electricity consumption.
“Imagine being able to reduce this component of consumption by 80 per cent,” Mr Rhyon says.
“The Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificate rebate is at levels never seen before, making this a perfect time to transition to this technology.”
Those keen to find out more can join the Heat Pump Hot Water Bulk Buy webinar on Monday, April 3 from 6.15pm to 7.15pm.
Words & images: Eve Lamb