Many people living outside of Australia’s cities are now experiencing a new energy crisis, and once again, its form within these small communities that solutions are quickly emerging as reported by The Guardian.
While some policy makers dither and draft useless strategies, those outside of the political bubble are not wasting time as they already face the realities of climate change every day. With every failing crop, every hotter month and with an ever increasing bushfire threat, those who live regional and rural Australia are desperately seeking within for climate change solutions.
The small community group Totally Renewable Yackandandah or TRY is pushed by necessity to get on with putting new renewable energy solutions. The community group has been around for 18 months, but it has already witnessed a jump of more than 10% in the proportion of building supporting rooftop solar panels.
The efforts began when an electrical fire destroyed the Yackandandah museum in 2006, progressive historians saw the rebuilding of the museum as an opportunity to adapt energy conservation and renewable generation. Up to this day, they pay next to nothing for power and both display artifacts and a model for intelligent energy planning.
The Newstead community in central Victoria has also settled on renewable electricity target of 100% by the year 2021. And so far the Newstead community is making great gains with the bulk purchasing of green power, doing developments with micro-grids in pushing the energy efficiency boundaries, local generation and storage of electricity. New South Wales’ Uralla has also prepared a zero-net energy blueprint.
Click here to read the full story on The Guardian