Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On the weekend was the annual Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group's Sustainable Living Festival, held in Woodend. This year was a particularly special year, because it was also the launch of their new solar park, which they hope will be accompanied by a wind park in future years. The solar park turns an old timber mill—hence the name Woodend—into a community solar park. It is a community enterprise and has been made possible through a grant from the Victorian state government—$100,000 went to the local group to put the 30-kilowatt system onto the roof as well as to develop the technology that goes with the solar system.

What makes this project so unique is the fact that there needed to be changes to rules and regulations around solar and solar enterprises. The businesses that now occupy the mill site will technically become consumers—therefore customers—of the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group owned solar on the roof of the mill. It is not something that you could do in Victoria until this project came about. Through hard work between the local organisation and the state government, it is now possible. It is possible for community groups and organisations, like the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group, to install solar on their buildings and then sell that energy to their tenants through a commercial arrangement. That commercial arrangement will then generate extra income for the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group and the solar enterprise.

It makes sense that we are supporting more and more community groups—more and more communities—tap into solar. Woodend and the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group have a bold plan. They want to make the Macedon Ranges 100 per cent renewable using renewable energy, and it is possible. They have a plan and are working with local and state government to deliver that plan. Just like Newstead up the road, they are on the path to being 100 per cent sustainable.

That is the kind of innovation that we have in central Victoria. It is so disappointing that this government is falling behind and not supporting communities like Woodend, like Newstead—communities in Mount Alexander and the Macedon Ranges—to connect to solar. As is demonstrated by what happened on the weekend, it is more than just support through community grants that these communities need; there are also a lot of regulation and a lot of changes to adapt. If we are genuine about moving to a power-sharing grid, then we need to make these changes. Congratulations to the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group not just on a great festival but on this Australia-first community solar park.

See this speech in context