The small town of Grong Grong in the Riverina region of New South Wales has celebrated a major milestone with the launch of Haystacks Solar Garden.
This Australian-first way of doing solar allows anyone connected to the electricity grid to access the benefits of solar directly on their electricity bill.
Related article: Haystacks Solar Garden opens ‘plots’ for purchase
The initiative is especially significant for the 30% of Australians who have been unable to access solar energy due to renting, living in apartments, or facing other barriers to installing rooftop solar panels.
Haystacks project manager and Community Power Agency director Kim Mallee said, “This is a really big day for the Australian energy sector. Haystacks Solar Garden has pioneered a new community-focused way of doing clean energy. It is a proof of concept for industry, demonstrating that there are many different ways to do solar and share the benefits with everyday people. Community energy projects like ours are a critical part of ensuring that the energy transition is both fast and fair.”
Haystacks Solar Garden is hosted by the purpose built 1.5MW Grong Grong Solar Farm that completed construction in March and is now exporting electricity to the grid.
Haystacks Solar Garden Co-op chair Kristy Walters said, “Our incredible project team went above and beyond to pioneer this solar garden model in Australia—and to all our members that came on the rollercoaster journey from 2020—we wouldn’t be here without them.
“Haystacks Solar Garden proves that solar can be made accessible for everyone— regardless of where you live or your tenure status, nobody needs to be locked out of benefiting from solar.”
One hundred and seventy-five solar garden plots were purchased by households in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. These plots are expected to deliver an estimated $883,750 of savings to solar gardeners’ (household participants) electricity bills over the 10 year life of the project.
Haystacks ‘solar gardener’ Jean Hay said, “We’re making history here with Haystacks Solar Garden. I’m a renter, I live in a unit and my partner and I are both in our 80s. We deeply care about equity in the shift to clean energy and this is a way of making the benefits of renewables accessible to all.”
Related article: Australia’s first solar garden expands to whole grid
Haystacks Solar Garden is a project of Community Power Agency, Pingala and Komo Energy with Energy Locals as the participating electricity retailer.
The project is funded by the NSW Government in association with the Haystacks Solar Garden Co-operative under the Regional Community Energy Fund.
