By Kath Gannaway
A small, picturesque creek that runs through the Warburton Golf Club is at the heart of the proposed return to a hydro electricity supply in Warburton.
The fast-flowing Ythan Creek is a natural feature of the course which over 80 years ago provided the water energy to power a hydro scheme that provided energy for local street lights and a nearby timber mill.
Warburton Community Hydro (WCH), backed by Upper Yarra Community Enterprise Ltd (UYCEL), the community-owned company that owns and operates the Warburton and Yarra Junction branches of Bendigo Bank, has applied to Yarra Ranges Council for a permit to resurrect the hydro scheme, saying it is an exciting and unique opportunity to invest in a renewable energy project.
The total investment would be around $1million with $500,000 to come from UYCEL and around $450,000 dependent on a successful grant from the State Government’s New Energy and Jobs Fund.
It’s money, however, that Warburton resident Sue Slusarek says could be better spent in a town which, she says, is in need of an economic boost.
Ms Slusarek says there has been no community consultation around the project which will give residents the opportunity to question some of the claims made about the projected energy production and benefit to the wider community, whether other renewables such as solar would provide more benefit, the environmental welfare of the creek and whether the bank’s investment is in line with community expectations.
UYCEL chairman Peter Kimberley, who is also a member of WCH, says however that the project is a separate investment for the bank and should be seen as that.
He said the idea was first mooted in 2011 but changes to the feed-in tarrif quashed the project.
“We now have more joy on the feed-in tarrif, plus the possibility of State Government grants, and with those two things on the horizon we decided to start the discussion again.
“Renewables is the way of the future and we judge the (Warburton) community to be sympathetic to what you could call environmental issues,” he said.
“If you think about the vision of UYCEL, it’s about building community capacity for a sustainable community, and we think this project fits very neatly.”
Mr Kimberley said the golf club would benefit from use of the power generated, as well as funds from the lease of the land, with power also being fed back into the grid.
He said the project would generate around 800,000 kilowatt hours of power – equivalent of the power required for up to 150 homes, and said the retail value of the power would be in excess of $200,000 a year.
“It is an investment that will generate a return to shareholders and to the community in the same way our banking profits are distributed.
In terms of other projects in the town, Mr Kimberley said UYCEL had the capacity to do both.
Mr Kimberley said a lot of work had been done to put a proposal together and to get to the point of applying for council permits, and that they had entered into two important partnerships.
River Power Tasmania has built three similar schemes, and negotiations are underway in regard to possibility of the company managing the project.
Another is Powershop, an emerging player in the retail/wholesale renewable energy industry.
Powershop CEO Ed McManus said they were excited to partner with the Warburton Hydro project.
“We are looking forward to seeing this project get off the ground,” Mr McManus said and added, launching a retail offer to residents of the local area was part of their plan for the project.
A Yarra Ranges Council spokesperson told the Mail their planning department had requested further information in relation to the planning application and are therefore unable to provide details of proposed advertising of the application, community consultation or whether the proposal will be decided at planning level, or be decided at a full council meeting.
Ms Slusarek in the meantime has launched a Facebook page ‘Real Investment in Warburton’ calling for input into what local residents want in Warburton.
The application ‘YR-2017/138’ can be viewed at www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au
