Taking charge of your power supply

Community forums in May/June to consider tailored microgrid options

Round 2 of the SuRF microgrid feasibility community forums are scheduled for May/June 2023. Communities have looked at the big ideas, now it’s time to discuss potential local designs.

SHASA (Southcoast Health and Sustainability Alliance) held initial consultations with community working groups in South Durras, Broulee, Congo, Bodalla, Central Tilba/Tilba Tilba and Mystery Bay in the Spring of 2022.  These consultations looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the current electricity supply arrangements, what a microgrid is, how a microgrid could benefit each community and how it might be configured.  

There will now be a second round of community forums in May and June 2023. Held jointly by ANU and SHASA the forums will look at potential microgrid designs to meet the needs of each community. Because microgrids are very flexible, and there are several different types available, each community has the chance to select the most suitable design for its own needs. Once the design is agreed on, the delivery partners will assess which ones may be practical to install.

Southcoast Health and Sustainability Alliance (SHASA) in partnership with the Australian National University (ANU), Essential Energy and Zepben are partners in delivering the Southcoast Microgrid Resilience Feasibility (SuRF) Project.  The SuRF study is a microgrid feasibility project funded by the Commonwealth Department of Industry Science Energy and Resources.

Phil Shorten, SHASA Surf Project Manager said “these community forums are open to all, we are keen to get broad community participation”.

ANU will also be running two initial workshops with the Nelligen and Tuross Head communities in June and July 2023.

To register for the workshops please send an email to phil@impartskills.onmicrosoft.com 

Community Forums

Media Contact: 

Phil Shorten, SHASA Surf Project Manager 0438 217 916