Omeo's Community Microgrids and Sustainable Energy Program

After the 2019/2020 summer bushfires, AusNet, Mondo and the Victorian Government designed a microgrid solution that can support rural communities when the electricity network is impacted.  

Delivered in partnership with project partners RACV Solar, over 80 systems have been installed on both residential and community hub sites to support the local energy network when greater energy resilience is needed.  
 
These systems vary from hot water heat pumps, diesel generators, solar PV and batteries. The microgrid systems are installed with Mondo’s Ubi, smart energy management system to sites to allow the microgrid function to be managed and controlled during events.  

Like the three towns participating in the project, project partners worked with local councils, communities, authorities to choose locations that were beneficial for the wider community to visit during events impacting the traditional energy network.  

These were chosen from a capacity, geographic location and resourcing.  

A resilient local electricity supply can provide electricity services even when the grid experiences an outage.

Energy resilience in Omeo is achieved by increasing renewable energy resources on community buildings and properties, to have the initiative to work independently on a daily but then work together in coordination when traditional energy resources or extreme events take place within the community impacting energy supply.

Each system that has been installed creates a ‘fleet’ of renewable energy solutions.  

‘Fleet’ describes all independent systems installed coordinating into one central source – the townwide microgrid solution managed by Mondo.  

Day to day, each towns ‘fleet’ work independently on the property it is installed on providing solar and battery benefits. However, during weather or network events, project partner Mondo, will monitor each ‘fleets’ stored battery levels and control how the community can consume this locally generated energy to keep the lights on.  

CMSEP site participants will be notified throughout the lifespan of the project when the ‘fleet’ is switched into the several microgrid functions by Mondo.  

Suitable essential services and critical businesses will receive a solar system and battery designed to support their individual energy needs during an outage. In addition, essential services providers will receive a backup generator. Eligible residents will receive heat pumps that reduce the energy demand on the grid and can be triggered to store heat before an outage, which will decrease energy demand on the community battery during an outage. All participating energy systems will also have a smart energy management device (Mondo Ubi) installed to optimise and coordinate energy use.

• Improve the reliability and resilience of the electricity supply

• Support energy security in the event of an emergency for the community

• Reduce reliance on the broader energy system by generating power locally

• Reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability

• Maximise the amount of locally generated solar energy while reducing annual energy bills.

• In the future, surplus electricity may be shared among participants of the microgrid, sold back to the grid or in the future even donated to a school, charity or other community organisation.

The program is funded by project partners, AusNet, Mondo and the Victorian Government. Funding was provided by partners to provide residents in the communities to purchase systems at a subsidised rate.  

Unfortunately, the project was only available to residents to purchase their subsidised systems for as long as their was available funding from project partners.