This, after Newstead 2021 today signed a memorandum of understanding with Powercor Australia to work on creating a renewable-energy based power supply for homes in Newstead.

The proposed model will incorporate community ownership to help keep energy costs down and promote social equity and could see the generation of solar and geothermal energy.

The community group has been spearheading a campaign to creating a zero-emissions energy supply model for the town, which had a population 512 at the last census. 

Newstead 2021 president Andrew Skeoch said the milestone was significant – not only for his community – but for the nation. 

“We believe Newstead is the first community in Australia to sign a memorandum of understanding with a network company, in this case, Powercor, to collaborate on transitioning to 100 per cent renewable energy,” Mr Skeoch said. 

“Our goal is to have a low-cost supply that generates clean energy plus other benefits for our community.

“We are delighted that Powercor has agreed to work with us. 

“They have shown enormous goodwill in their dealings with us and we look forward to creating a model we think will be replicable in other small communities.”

It comes one year after the Andrews Labor Government announced a $200,000 grant to kick-start the Newstead eco-power project.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio visited Newstead today to mark the signing of a the MoU.

Ms D’Ambrosio said the $200,000 grant would empower the Newstead community to be the first town in Victoria to fully harness the benefits of locally generated and stored renewable energy.

“We are creating new jobs and helping Victoria shift towards a renewable energy future with our $20 million New Energy Jobs Fund and Renewable Energy Roadmap,” she said. 

Mr Skeoch told the Bendigo Advertiser that Powercor would now provide the community group with industry know-how such as understanding the town’s energy load profile, assessing the impact of local generation on grid stability and reliability, financial modelling, and other technical advice. 

“There are really exciting options – particularly around power generation – which could bring an economic boost to the town,” he said. 

“We’re not closing the door to any possibility.”

Mr Skeoch said installing more solar PV panels would be an obvious first step, but the group would look at several options over the longer term. 

“We live in geothermal area for instance, which may be part of mission down the track,” he said.  

He said the renewable power grid would be opt-in, so there would be no disruption to current customers.

“This is about consumer choice, so if we gett he pricing right and stability of power then it will be a very attractive propostion – but it’s not going to be forced on anyone,” he said. 

”It will be a gradual process and achieving 100 per cent renewable energy will, to some extend, depend on what happens in the wider market.

“But I have the suspicion that the world will change very quickly now that we are seeing a real movement towards renewable energy.” 

Member for Bendigo West Maree Edwards said the grant was an exciting next step for the Newstead community and congratulated the local residents who were driving this project.

“This is a great initiative that will see Newstead leading the way nationally on renewable energy,” Ms Edwards said.