At YEF, we’re part of a community working towards better energy and the practical solutions that will enable more people to transition to a net zero carbon future. This future is approaching fast and we’re supporting those making it happen.

The community battery was installed and launched on 5 June 2022. Read the Final Report.

Enabling more solar and expanded access to renewable energy

The Yarra Community Battery Project is the testing grounds for metropolitan Melbourne’s first community battery and is supported by an  $800,000 grant from the Victorian Government.

The battery is helping to eliminate solar waste, make energy more affordable, enable more solar installs, and increase community-wide access to locally-produced renewable energy.

The pilot project aims to demonstrate the operational and commercial viability of community battery and develop a sustainable, equitable and replicable model.

A community battery, or neighbourhood battery, is a mid-scale energy storage unit (typically about the size of a small 4WD vehicle). It is designed for a neighbourhood, which allows the wider community to access and store renewable energy.

Read more about community batteries.

Better Energy Banyule (BEB) is a program designed to make installing energy efficiency upgrades simple and cost effective for households within the City of Banyule.

YEF are proud to partner with BCC to help the Banyule community upgrade their appliances to save money and reduce emissions.

Hume Solar Roll Out is a residential program to assist Hume residents install solar on their home. The program intends to make this as simple and cost effective as possible while reducing energy bills and local emissions across the Hume LGA.

Providing new data to improve building resilience and preparedness for extreme heat events

The Victorian Government’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning has engaged YEF to undertake 40 building assessments in Melbourne’s west. Contact: Phani Yeggina, phani.yeggina@yef.org.au

Yarra Energy Foundation have worked with multiple partners to complete The Guide to Solar for Apartments, providing step-by-step advice and information on how to break down barriers commonly faced by apartment tenants, owners, and management companies.

Common barriers

• Lack of accurate and accessible advice for apartment dwellers and owners.
• Difficulty managing diverse interests and needs of multiple residents.
• Technical difficulty of installing rooftop solar on apartment complexes.

Understanding your energy use and where it is wasted gives you another lens through which to look at optimising building running costs. On average, those costs can be cut down by 30% to 40% simply by maintaining, retrofitting, or switching old appliances with more efficient ones.

This initiative will select 10 mid to large businesses in the City of Yarra and help them reduce their energy costs.

In late 2022, the Yarra Energy Foundation was awarded AusNet’s inaugural Vulnerability Research Grant. The annual grant of $30,000 offers social service organisations the opportunity to work together with AusNet, the electricity distribution network service provider for eastern Victoria, to better understand their customers’ needs. You can learn more about AusNet’s grant program here.

Metropolitan Community Power Hub

This project ended 30 June 2022. Read the key outcomes and impacts here and download the Guide to Solar for Apartments.

YEF led Victoria’s first Metropolitan Community Power Hub with funding from Sustainability Victoria in partnership with several climate community groups. The Hub reduced emissions and mobilised local climate responses by building knowledge, participation and capacity of local climate community groups.

Key outcomes

• Installation of 175kW of renewable energy generation capacity
• Yielding over 236,000kWh of renewable energy
• Resulting in $372,000 new investment in solar
• Guide to Solar for Apartments – comprehensive guide for apartment and multi-unit dwelling stakeholders

Key impacts

• Emissions reduction 277 tCO2-e/year in addition to emissions reduced from behaviour changes
• Increased community support for renewable and clean energy
• Reduced costs for households, small businesses and communities

Small Business Energy Saver program

In 2021-2022, YEF was engaged by Sustainability Victoria to assist in the rollout of the Small Business Energy Saver Program. According to Sustainability Victoria, by upgrading to more energy efficient equipment, the 4,426 businesses who participated in the Small Business Energy Saver program since March 2021 have reduced their annual energy bills by more than $3.6 million. The program has also saved 12,890t CO2e annually or 154,900t CO2e over the lifetime of the products.