Bendigo Sustainability Group

Note that this initaitive is now in recess following the change in government PV rebates  - we are no longer taking new registrations. However a new program is expected to be launched soon. 

BSG is pleased to be a partner of the Strathfieldsaye and Districts Community Enterprise (SDCE) in the Solar Rooftops 100 Project. The SDCE have undertaken an enormous amount of work to build a bulk purchase model for a domestic PV solar system at considerably reduced cost to the resident. The Solar PV Working Group of the BSG  together with the BSG General Committee are of a strong belief that this deal provides both quality and genuine value to the BSG member. Click to go straight to SDCE's Solar Rooftops webpage to understand the scheme and register your interest.  

An example of a PV system installed in Golden Square (courtesy of David Hooke)

After inviting expressions of interest (EOI’s) from a number of capable PV providers, in July the SDCE appointed a Melbourne-based firm, Energy Matters, to undertake the Solar Rooftops Project. Energy Matters have been previously involved in time constrained community-based projects and have given a commitment to using local installation agents for 50% of installation under this program.

Energy Matters offer a 1kW solar system fully installed on a standard rooftop for $11,800 (until end-March) under the Solar Rooftops Project compared to approximately $13,000-$14,000 for similar sized systems when purchased individually. If you are eligible for the Federal rebate of $8,000 (this applies to households whose taxable income is less than $100,000 in the previous financial year) you will only be required to pay $3,800 for the standard installation of such a system. Each installation will be subject to a site inspection as there are some variations that may apply that could amount cost a few hundred dollars each.

In establishing this scheme the SDCE has planned that individual households will surrender 50% of the Victorian Renewable Energy Certificates (VREC's) applicable to their system to the SDCE. However, the VREC revenue redeemed will be invested back into other sustainable projects within this area eg. household energy audits, community owned energy park, solar hot water bulk purchase model etc.

A variation on the distribution of the VREC value is that you can elect to have 50% of the SDCE allocated VREC for your system allocated to the BSG. This is purely a matter of personal choice. For instance you might decide this if you live outside the Strathfieldsaye district and/or that you wish to support other sustainability projects that are less specific to Strathfieldsaye. In any case the SDCE and BSG will be working closely together to ensure a suite of community sustainability projects that will be accessible to all of Bendigo.

For those who are eligible for the Federal PV Rebate scheme there is a requirement to submit a pre-approval application. These take approximately 6 weeks to process currently before any installation can proceed, so it is  best to get your registrations in early. This will need to be completed in conjunction with Energy Matters and can be worked through when they undertake their site inspection. When final confirmation of costs (after site inspection) are confirmed and accepted there will be a requirement for a $1,000 deposit to be paid to Energy Matters. The rebate will then be paid direct to Energy Matters thus negating the need for individual households to find the extra $8,000.

Remember that to register you need to fill the online form on SDCE's Solar Rooftops webpage.