Community Renewable Energy Financing Toolkit

In Australia, we now have over 30 recognised Community Energy Projects and demand is growing rapidly. The highest demand comes from communities who wish to develop projects that can be invested in independently. This allows communities to be able to contribute to energy self-sufficiency, lower energy costs, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Frontier Impact Group decided to develop this toolkit when we discovered that funding was one of the key barriers for Community Energy project developers and there was a need to improve financial literacy around renewable energy projects.

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It is supported by funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the steering group consisted of the Australian Renewable Energy Association (ARENA), the NSW Government, and Community for Clean Energy (C4CE), Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Community Power Agency, and Embark.

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What does it do?

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The aim of the toolkit is to up-skill the financial literacy of community energy developers and increase the likelihood that projects can be funded. The Community Energy Funding Toolkit currently consists of two guidebooks: the Funding Basics Guidebook and a Behind the Meter Solar PV guidebook. 

The Behind the Meter guidebook focuses on demonstrating the steps needed to develop, and successfully fund, community solar PV projects. This guidebook is the first to be released as the steering group identified Behind the Meter solar projects to have the highest likelihood of becoming commercially viable and a strong potential for replication.  A large proportion of the successful projects developed to date are Behind the Meter solar PV projects. Subject to funding, the next guidebooks will cover Grid Connected Solar PV and wind projects followed by energy storage projects.