MEDIA RELEASE

6 March 2024

Mondo and Prospecta Utilities have partnered to deliver an Australian-first renewable energy technical solution for the land lease sector that will reduce energy costs and improve energy reliability.

Mondo Business and Market Development Manager, Max Kamali, said the growing cost of living pressures are also impacting the land lease sector, which is looking at ways to make its energy cheaper and more reliable.

Data shows there are 130,000 senior Australians living in land lease estates, where they own their physical home and lease the land. “A third of Australia’s population will be over 55 in the next decade, so delivering renewable energy solutions to this market will help a significant percentage of our population access a sustainable solution that reduces their carbon footprint and cost of living,” said Mr Kamali.

This partnership brings Mondo’s Ubi Distributed Energy platform and Prospecta Utilities’ wireless enterprise network technology together with Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) to provide a fully integrated renewable energy generation system. This new technology will enable operators to sustainably power their land lease communities, reducing their energy bills, while also monetising their investment by integrating with the energy grid.

“The VPPs are capable of networking rooftop solar across homes and community facilities to commercial-grade battery storage, optimising how energy is deployed both behind and in front of the meter.” Mr Kamali said a dedicated team had spent a decade working on Mondo’s technology, which, coupled with Prospecta Utilities know-how in the land lease space, positioned the partnership to become the market leader in the sector.

“This innovative solution helps land lease communities meet environmental, social and governance ESG goals, sometimes referred to as responsible investing,” said Mr Kamali.

In the first six-month testing period, residents from GemLife reported an average power bill of just $8, prompting GemLife to commit to a $75 million investment that will see more than 10,000 homes connected to Virtual Power Plants over the next six years.

“The dual benefit for operators is they can deliver value and reliability to homeowners while monetising their investment by accessing to the two-way marketplace, allowing excess energy to be distributed back into the electricity grid,” he said.

Prospecta Utilities Chief Executive Officer Mark Langdon said land lease operators were uniquely positioned to harness the end-to-end technology, which could be deployed across new greenfield or existing projects nationally.
“The nature of land lease communities means all parties, the operator and the residents, benefit,” said Mr Langdon.

“We’ve seen the GemLife resorts connected to VPPs achieve up to 90 per cent energy independence, with most of the energy generated on site. This has reduced reliance on the national energy grid, protecting residents from rising energy costs. There are a lot of happy homeowners,” he said.

Mr Langdon said the VPPs would be further enhanced with the overlay of new pioneering wireless enterprise network technology, which allowed for in-depth monitoring, measuring and controlling of power to optimise battery storage. “There is no one else in Australia offering this type of technology solution, it is totally unique,” said Mr Langdon.

Mondo was established over a decade ago by Victorian network operator AusNet to better connect communities to renewable energy solutions and has $1.6 billion of renewable energy assets under management.

Prospecta Utilities was established by the Puljich family, which owns the GemLife land lease portfolio, to connect Virtual Power Plants to 700 homes in South-East Queensland.

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