Community Power Hub Loddon Mallee has made good use of this fact by partnering with Hazeldenes near Bendigo to install more than 650 solar panels across three chicken sheds.
The panels are expected to be operational by February and will produce 300 kilowatts of power for Hazeldenes and the grid.
Community Power Hub Loddon Mallee project manager Tony O’Loughlin said it was a great project, with a local business partnering with the local community to generate local power.
“We’ve received funding to put solar on the sheds from Sustainability Victoria, which is by the Victorian Government,” Mr O’Loughlin said.
“Hazeldenes don’t need to pay a cent but the agreement is they’ll pay back the amount for the solar panels over seven years. That money will go towards other Community Power Hub projects.”
The situation is a win-win, with Hazeldenes getting the Community Power Hub to handle the paperwork and installation while the Community Power Hub gets to create 300kW of renewable energy in the Loddon Mallee.
“For us we wanted to support local business and Hazeldenes are one of the largest employers in the Loddon Mallee,” Mr O’Loughlin said.
“Their large sheds are absolutely fantastic sites for solar.”
Hazeldenes chief executive Mark Heintz said the business already had a large solar footprint and this project was growing that capacity.
The panels will help power lights, drinkers, feeders and fans for the birds.
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