The Gippsland Community Energy Leadership Journey

Are you interested in supporting community energy in Gippsland? Do you want to build your leadership skills?

Community energy projects can benefit the Gippsland region by providing jobs, financial returns, a greater sense of community connection and environmental benefits. We have developed an online learning program to help the Gippsland community to participate in community energy projects with greater confidence, support and impact.

The online learning program is open to anyone from the Gippsland region who is interested in learning more about community energy projects and how to make them happen. 

There will be six sessions. These will build on each other to create a learning journey, so you will get the most benefit if you attend all the sessions. However, you can choose to attend as many or as few as you want.

1. Tues 24th Nov 2020, 12-1:30pm. GETTING STARTED: A MAP FOR THE JOURNEY. An introduction to community energy and the stages in the journey to make a community energy project happen. What does it mean to be a community energy leader? Guest speaker: Esther Lloyd, Gippsland Climate Change Network
2. Tues 1st Dec 2020, 12-2pm. FIRST STEPS: BUILDING YOUR COMMUNITY. This session focuses on how to bring together a core team, engage the wider community and develop a shared vision for your community energy project. Guest speaker: Matthew Charles-Jones, Totally Renewable Yackandandah
3. Tues 8th Dec 2020, 12-2pm. FINDING YOUR WAY: MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS. Moving from a great idea to a feasible community energy project requires making tough decisions about technologies, site, governance and organisational models. This session focuses on how to approach those decisions.
4. Tues 2nd Feb 2021, 12-2pm. FUNDING THE JOURNEY: BUSINESS CASES AND FUNDRAISING. Community energy projects are fuelled by passion but they need to work financially too. This session looks at business models, business cases and fundraising. Guest speaker: John Coulter, Energy Innovation Co-Op
   
5. Tues 9th Feb 2021, 12-2pm. DESTINATION IN SIGHT: APPROVALS AND OPERATION. This session explores how to navigate approval processes, the construction phase and operation of the community energy project (12 noon - 2pm, Tuesday 9th February 2021). Guest speaker: Don Culvenor, Renewable Newstead
6. Tues 16th Feb 2021, 12:30-1:30pm. LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD: CELEBRATING THE JOURNEY. This short final session reflects on what we have learned, celebrates the journey and seeks feedback on next steps for community energy leadership in Gippsland.

There will be some preparation required for each session - responding to some questions, watching a video or reading a document for example. We will also be encouraging you to put what you learn into practice by exploring practical ways you can support community energy in your community. Guest speakers and case studies will provide inspiration from successful community energy projects.

The course is designed to introduce you to community energy while also building your leadership skills. By the end of the course you will be ready to support community energy projects to get up and running in your community.

Facilitators

The Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney is working with the Latrobe Valley Authority to strengthen community energy leadership and governance across the Gippsland region. This project is funded by the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions as part of the Gippsland Smart Specialisation Strategy.

The course will be presented by Professor Chris Riedy and Fiona Berry from the Institute for Sustainable Futures. Click on their names to see their profiles.