Wolli Creek Community Renewable Energy Workshop
12pm-2pm, Wednesday 22 May
St Magdalene’s Chapel, Wolli Creek, Sydney
Residents in Wolli Creek have recently launched ‘Electrify Wolli Creek’ to help the Discovery Point high rise community electrify their homes and find renewable energy and clean transport solutions.
About 98% of the population of Wolli Creek live in apartments and lack ample roof space for occupants to enjoy the benefits of rooftop solar.
On 22 May, Electrify Wolli Creek is holding a workshop to help community members better understand their current energy bills and provide information on renewable energy solutions, affordable electric vehicle options, and the benefits of getting off gas.
The event will be delivered by Sydney Community Forum, in partnership with Electrify Wolli Creek and Solar Citizens. The event facilitator, Lina Chen Pan, is fluent in Mandarin to accommodate for the cultural and linguistic diversity of Wolli Creek’s residents.
Rob Jarman lives in Discovery Point, a high-rise apartment complex, and is one of the founding members of Electrify Wolli Creek.
“I’ve lived in Discovery Point precinct for over five years and I’ve come to better understand it is a unique community of apartment, commercial owners and residents. It’s taken a while to understand the layers of strata governance and the role they play in residential apartment living. Unsurprisingly, the initial focus was on development of buildings and infrastructure – and that’s mostly completed now.
“I’m interested in the opportunity for the development of the communities of people who live here. Electrify Wolli Creek has the potential to bring people together, create a shared vision around electrification, identify possible barriers and limitations, and plan a pathway for each individual strata community to achieve their electrification outcomes. And that will help ease cost of living pressures, improve the value of properties, as well as being good for the planet.”
Heidi Lee Douglas, CEO of Solar Citizens said, “Electrify Wolli Creek is a grassroots initiative supported by Solar Citizens that will empower residents to access solar and renewable energy.
“For Solar Citizens, the goal of supporting this project is to create a blueprint that can be used nationally for removing the barriers to electrification retrofits for high-rise apartments, including installing rooftop solar, EV charging, induction stoves, and heat pumps. To our knowledge, it’s the first project of its kind and will therefore have positive, solutions-focused implications for the 14% of Australians who live in an apartment.
“Rooftop solar provides cheaper, clean energy and saves households money on power bills, delivers cost-of-living relief, and provides a healthier environment through reduced carbon pollution, especially when rolled out alongside electrification upgrades.”
Asha Ramzan, Executive Officer of Sydney Community Forum said, “Sydney Community Forum has been leading the migrant community focussed Voices for Power Project since it began in 2015. Voices for Power works with people from culturally diverse communities on Climate Justice and Energy Equity initiatives and actions. The VfP Energy Literacy Program is a key pillar of this community engagement.
“If people don’t understand the energy system in Australia, they won’t have the knowledge, tools or language to negotiate the best energy deal for their household and they will struggle to advocate for their household to have access to renewables, regardless of their status in the housing system.”