By Romy Stephens
Upper Yarra Community Power (UYCP) is celebrating 18 months since it first began its Hydroelectric Plant Project.
The project saw a small group of local volunteers from UYCP steadily work towards their own clean, green hydro power station on the Ythan Creek, which runs through the Warburton Golf Course.
The project was first proposed about 11 years ago and in 2018, it was finally completed.
The hydro plant now operates 24 hours a day. For the past 12 months it operated at 58.7 per cent capacity and generated 514,334 kilowatt hours of electricity.
This is an average output of 61kw per hour of every day, equivalent to the annual electricity usage of about 61 homes.
The environmental benefits have also been felt, with the hydro plant saving 637 tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.
In comparison, it could have offset the emissions of a modern car driving nearly 3.5 million kilometres, or the equivalent of 221 laps around Australia on Highway 1.
The Hydroelectric Plant Project was inspired by a long history – over 100 years – of hydro electricity in Warburton.
This history stems from the region’s naturally wet and steep environment.
One of the volunteers that spearheaded the project, Luke Whiteside, said it was “very satisfying” to have brought that history back to the town.
“It is a beautiful story, if you look back, of something that existed in the 1930s being brought back to Warburton,” he said.
“I feel incredibly vindicated, very proud. We put a chunk of work into this as volunteers.
“Part of the dream is to be able to replicate it, there are some other creeks nearby that we would love to do this in as well.”
Mr Whiteside said the project showed that even small communities can make a positive economic and environmental impact through renewables.
“Every area needs to look at what resources they’ve got and for some that’s wind and for many that’s solar,” he said.
“We’re in the very fortunate position that we’ve got rainfall. We are being affected by climate change but we still have fairly consistent rainfall.”
Funding of $450,000 for the project was acquired through the State Government’s New Energy Jobs Fund and auspiced by Yarra Ranges Council in 2017.
A further $450,000 loan to UYCP from Bendigo Bank also helped fund the project. The final cost was about $1.3 million.
The power station is small and required no invasive infrastructure such as dams.
It is completely owned by the community, with revenue from the electricity sold directed back into the Upper Yarra Region through the Upper Yarra Community Enterprise.
For more information about the project, visit https://upperyarra.net.au/upper-yarra-community-power/.
