Training Sessions
Sunday, 15 June
[/av_textblock] [av_toggle_container initial=’0′ mode=’accordion’ sort=”] [av_toggle title=’Negotiating Host Sites – 1-3pm’ tags=”] This session is about negotiating host sites for any community renewable energy project, particularly wind and solar. Exploring two case studies, you will understand how these particular projects were successfully concluded. Join this workshop to get the tips and skills you need to be able negotiate host sites in your own community.[/av_toggle] [av_toggle title=’The cooperative toolbox 1-3pm’ tags=”]
The cooperative toolbox 1-3pm
Cooperatives are the main structure used globally for community owned renewable energy.
Unlock the secrets of the cooperative toolbox and learn how to share the benefits of economic participation and democratic decision-making in renewable energy projects. This hand-on practical workshop will give you a chance to whiteboard your project with legal cooperative expert, Robyn Donnelly.
Robyn will cover:
- What is a cooperative
- How is it different from other business models
- Why do coops work better for community investment projects
- How are cooperatives financed
Community solar feasibility assessment using ATA’s solar simulator 3.30-6.30pm
This workshop will guide you through the fundamentals of feasibility assessments of community scale solar projects, with hands-on experience in using ATA’s new community solar analysis tool.
Outcomes:
- Understand issues that affect the financial attractiveness of solar systems.
- Complete a feasibility analysis for a solar system (with demo data).
- Gain skills and confidence to initiate and progress community solar projects.
- Understand how to efficiently and effectively assess potential host sites
- Understand how to optimise the size of a solar system
Requirements:
- Some experience with spreadsheets
- Some knowledge of electricity bills / data, eg:
- What’s a tariff?
- kW vs kWh
- Laptop with:
- Microsoft Excel 2003 or later.
- System permissions to run macros etc.
Pre-training preparation:
- Download training files onto laptop
- Completed demo file
- Empty demo file
- Consumption data file
- Open and run completed demo file to test that it works.
- Read presentation “Solar Payback – The devil is in the detail”
Wednesday, 18 June
[/av_textblock] [av_toggle_container initial=’0′ mode=’accordion’ sort=”] [av_toggle title=’Community Energy Crowdfunding 9-11.00am ‘ tags=”]Community Energy Crowdfunding 9-11.00am
This practical and hands-on workshop is for anyone who wants to be awesome at crowdfunding for their social or creative initiative.
Crowdfunding is a powerful and highly-successful new approach to fundraising. But still more than half of all crowdfunding campaigns fall short, often because of a handful of common mistakes or misconceptions. This workshop is all about making sure you’re in the half that succeeds!
This practical and hands on workshop will cover key steps in developing a campaign, including:
- Selecting a realistic financial target for your campaign
- Identifying your community and how to target them
- Offering rewards which work
- Developing a video with limited or no budget
- Using social media to support your campaign
- Crafting the stories which will inspire support
- Identifying the community who will respond to your story
Connecting your renewable energy project to the grid: what you need to know 9-11am
This Workshop will help prepare you for the grid connection approvals process and help you manage uncertainty of the time and cost of grid connection during the project development phase.
Most renewable energy project proponents significantly underestimate the cost, complexity and time requirements of grid connection. Where network upgrades are required, otherwise financially viable projects can fail to get up. Even where there is no upgrade required, the time and expense of negotiating with the distribution business catches many by surprise.
To make it more challenging, the rules and processes differ from state to state, have just changed in the last month, and are expected to change again in coming years.
Outcomes:
- Understand the risks and opportunities of different grid connection options.
- Learn how to plan for grid connection throughout the development of your project.
- Learn what grid connection rules and processes apply to your project, in your state or territory.
- Learn changes to the rules are in train and what this means for Community Energy projects in coming years.
- Assess opportunities for renewable energy projects with confidence.This Workshop will help prepare you for the grid connection approvals process and help you manage uncertainty of the time and cost of grid connection during the project development phase.