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Komo Energy will partner with another community solar farm in New South Wales – the Gloucester Community Solar Farm, located outside of Gloucester in the Mid-North Coast.
The 500kW project will be developed in partnership with community organisation Energise Gloucester, which will enable Gloucester locals to invest in and benefit from the project once it reaches investment readiness.
As development partner, Komo Energy will support the project to overcome development roadblocks and take the project to investment readiness. This includes coordinating land matters, grid connection, approvals and the electricity retailer engagement.
This model assists community organisations, like Energise Gloucester, to create greater certainty for local investors and tap into project development expertise that may otherwise be unavailable at this scale.
Gloucester Community Solar Farm is the third project developed by Komo Energy that will also be supported by grant funding from the State Government’s Regional Community Energy Fund.
Komo Energy co-founder and Head of Energy Market Strategy Jonathan Prendergast says: “Projects like the Gloucester Community Solar Farm are critical building blocks to resilient local energy systems.
“We’ll be working closely with Energise Gloucester to look at how we can create a project that maximises the benefit to the community. The project is also seeking a partnership with an electricity retailer willing to supply a portion of the electricity generated by the project at a lower rate in exchange for reducing the cost of electricity for disadvantaged Gloucester households.”
Komo Energy co-founder and Head of Development Services Gerald Arends says: “Our goal is to make solar farms as ubiquitous as sheds in regional areas.
“We are really looking forward to working with Energise Gloucester. Their team has some very senior expertise ranging from landholder engagement to construction management. Our development model is flexible enough to tap into and build on this local expertise.”
The Chair of Energise Gloucester, David Marston, says the organisation is excited to be working with Komo Energy to bring the Gloucester Community Solar Farm to operation.
David explains the community association has been developing the solar farm for three years and now needs expertise to bring it to the construction stage.
He says: “Community members of Energise Gloucester have the knowledge and capability to address community needs and focus investment for community benefit. The expertise from Komo Energy will ensure the project is finalised efficiently and in a realistic timeframe. It will be a great partnership to deliver community energy.”
Komo Energy has opened its pipeline of new mid-scale solar and storage projects to public investment through Birchal equity funding. Funding raised will be used to take new projects through the early development stages and create investment opportunities for community groups and others.
The raise will allow more individuals to invest in developing mid-scale renewable energy projects and will be open for investment until Wednesday 10 December.