Solar Capital of Australia

At its Ordinary Meeting on 27 April 2023, Mildura Rural City Council committed to becoming the Solar Capital of Australia.

Council adopted an advocacy paper highlighting the following key opportunities for government and industry to continue to position the Mildura region as the Solar Capital of Australia:

  1. Further investment in electricity transmission and distribution network to unlock additional small, medium and large-scale solar PV generation.
  2. Further investment in additional solar PV generation to support transition to 100 percent renewable energy, electrification and zero emissions vehicles.
  3. Socially responsible renewable energy development with best practice community engagement and benefit sharing.
  4. Neighbourhood and large-scale battery storage to support renewable energy transition and micro-grids, provide grid stability, reduce large-scale solar export curtailment, greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills.
  5. Further funding for households, business/industry and government to continue to embrace renewable energy and battery storage technologies.
  6. Further investment in public electric vehicle fast charging and green hydrogen fuel cell refuelling stations sourcing locally produced renewable energy.
  7. Investment in solar carparks integrated with electric vehicle charging stations in key strategic locations.

Council leading the way

Since 2011, Council has installed over 1MW of solar PV on its buildings and facilities, the most of any local government in central and northern Victoria. Council has also installed over 200kWh of battery storage. 

MSP solar rooftop.jpg

Loddon Mallee Renewable Energy Roadmap

Council was involved in the CVGA-led Loddon Mallee Renewable Energy Roadmap project which was released by the Victorian Government in May 2020. The roadmap identified the community’s vision for the role that renewable energy will play in the region, the current state of renewable energy in the Loddon Mallee, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing the region as we transition to renewable energy.

The roadmap identified that the number one priority is to upgrade grid infrastructure to realise the region’s solar potential. This included identifying strategic locations in the transmission and distribution network where small and large scale batteries and other forms of storage can help stabilise energy supply and shift high daytime electricity consumption in peak periods.

The roadmap also prioritised maximising community benefit sharing and maintaining social licence on renewable energy development.

Community Sparks

Council was part of a successful funding bid for inclusion in the Victorian Government’s Neighbourhood Battery Initiative in 2021-22. Led by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance (CVGA), the Community Sparks project developed a greater understanding of how communities and councils can play a greater role in implementing neighbourhood batteries.

The project sought to go beyond focussing on a single site and strategically assessed different ways in which batteries may be rolled out comprehensively across the region.

The feasibility study examined the technical, commercial and social feasibility of neighbourhood batteries across several LGAs in central and north-west Victoria. The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) funded project was a partnership between the CVGA, Hepburn Energy, Powercor and nine local governments including MRCC.

More information on the project can be found here.

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