What’s it all about?
Inner West Community Energy (IWCE) is now almost two years old and in that time the organisation has helped 43 households install solar, which is an incredible $340,000 (220KW) worth of new solar investment in the Inner West. We’ve held eight solar information nights, offered one-on-one advice on solar and energy savings, and we’ve worked hard to build a credible, effective organisation. Now we want to accelerate and increase the range of services we can offer.
Last October at Club Five Dock, we raised $15,000 to install a commercial-scale solar system on the roof of a cafe in the Inner West. That project subsequently couldn’t proceed because we discovered the roof was not sufficiently sound.
Another fundraiser for a bigger solar array
Now we’re planning a new and more ambitious project on another, larger building, Acre Eatery in Camperdown (which happens to have a new roof). This exciting new project will involve building a bigger solar system than the one we can already afford. So to make it happen we’re collaborating with Acre Eatery and holding a dinner fundraiser on Sunday evening, October 20. They’ve offered to provide high-quality food, drinks, staff and venue and the money earned by selling tickets from the event will go towards building the array.
Our solar array will be installed on Acre’s roof, and we’ll have a power purchase agreement with Acre so they pay us for the electricity generated, providing our group with a steady, reliable income. The electricity will be no dearer than the price they pay now, plus it’ll be 100% renewable, which supports their corporate sustainability goals.
How will we spend this revenue?
Inner West Community Energy is run by dedicated volunteers and a project manager who is employed one day per week. We are innovating to create a commercial model that will allow us to do this again and again, with a faster turnover. We’d like to provide many more services than we can right now. Driving this crucial energy transition in the Inner West needs people to make it happen (Yes, more volunteers are welcome!).
With increased revenue, Inner West Community Energy will strive to help many more households install solar; support other Inner West community organisations to install solar – such as child care centres, community centres and aged care facilities; help tenants work with landlords to install solar on their rental properties; help to install solar on social housing; and offer energy savings advice to households. There’s plenty more we could do right here in our community, if we had the resources.
Join us at Acres of Energy
We’d like your support for the fantastic October 20th Acres of Energy event so that we can build a big solar PV system on a building in the Inner West that would generate long-term revenue to help our group drive a faster, crucial transition to clean energy.
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/acres-of-energy-a-solar-harvest-celebration-tickets-73711401787