The Yackandandah Mini Grid Future

On the 9th of February 2017 Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY) invited AusNet Services to talk about a shared goal to develop one of Australia’s first commercially operated mini grids in Yackandandah.

A mini grid is an energy system in which a group of households are equipped with an individual energy generation (solar panels) and storage capability (battery). As a mini grid this group can function as a unified energy community through the use of technology such as wireless communications, cloud-based software platforms and home energy management systems.

For TRY Co-chair Matt Grogan the launch was the culmination of three years of planning and hard work. “We started TRY in 2014 and have been working hard to develop a plan for Yackandandah that the whole community can be a part of.  It’s exciting to be able to show off the very latest in renewable energy technology right here in Yackandandah,” he said.

Neighbourhood trial this year
Some Yackandandah residents will not have to wait that long to be part of the mini-grid future.  A complete solar and battery mini grid solution is being offered to one Yackandandah neighbourhood this year. Mondo™ Power’s, Mark Judd, said “If the residents accept our offer, this will be a chance to start building the renewable energy future and show the town and the greater community the benefits of a mini grid solution.”  He went on to say that Mondo™ Power will contribute towards the battery costs to support the realisation of the mini grid in Yackandandah. “We’re committed to building this mini grid in Yackandandah,” he said.

Ubi optimises renewable consumption
Mr Judd also highlighted that householders in Yackandandah will have an opportunity to purchase a battery-ready solar and Mondo™ Ubi™ solution.  Mondo™ Ubi™ will send the owner helpful hints regarding their energy usage and send alerts when it is time to consider the installation of a battery.

TRY volunteer Ben McGowan said that with the batteries in place it would be possible for households to optimise their renewable energy consumption using the battery and to effectively share electricity with one another: “This is one of the really exciting things about the mini grid. Yackandandah could end up with its very own shared electricity economy!” “Additionally, TRY has secured 50 Mondo™ Ubi™’s to offer to households with existing solar panels, giving them the chance to upgrade their system free of charge” he said.

Whole community opportunity
For TRY Co-Chair Matt Grogan the mini grid future offers the best chance of reaching TRY’s 100% renewable energy target for the town of Yackandandah. “Participating in this opportunity is going to increase the total amount of solar electricity the town is able to generate,” he said. “The addition of batteries means that we’ll be able to store our solar energy and the mini grid means that we’ll be able to share it. It will be a whole community effort,” he said.

TRY, AusNet Services and Mondo™ Power held an information session and Yackandandah residents are invited to express their interest to be part of the program

See links below to view the AusNet offer and to download the printed proposal:

Expression of Interest to find out more Use the form below to find out more about this offer and to express your interest:

This can be submitted in three ways:

  1. Dropping of at YCDCo;
  2. Scanning and sending to TRY:  [email protected];
  3. Scanning and sending to Mondo Power at: [email protected]

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10 thoughts on “The Yackandandah Mini Grid Future

  1. This sounds like a fantastic initiative. I saw your story in the Border Mail today. I was wondering if Mondo were looking at any similar initiatives in Wodonga?

  2. Misleading and deceptive behaviour by the Minister for the Environment.

    He does not account for the number of Subsidies paid to the fossil fuel industry to artificially keep prices down; Vitor Gaspar, the IMF’s head of fiscal affairs “Energy prices remain woefully below levels that reflect their true costs.”
    Nicholas Stern, the eminent climate economist, said: “This very important analysis shatters the myth that fossil fuels are cheap by showing just how huge their real costs are.”

    Fossil fuel companies are benefitting from global subsidies of $US 5.3tn a year, equivalent to $US 10m a minute every day, the subsidy is greater than the total health spending of all the world’s governments.
    Australia’s share is $aAU45 Billion per annum.

    Regarding health, the analysis predicts that if we fail to produce effective antibiotics we could see 10 million deaths per annum. Yet, right now we count 11 million dead directly attributed to fossil fuel pollution.
    What price do we put on these deaths?

    The pricing of fossil fuels must count all costs if done correctly, the argument for subsidies for renewable energy will disappear.

    Renewable energy would suddenly be a much more attractive option.

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