CORENA: Citizens Own Renewable Energy Network Australia

Australians are a ‘can do’ people, especially it seems when it comes to doing something about energy. CORENA – Citizens’ Own Renewable Energy Network Australia – is but one example.

What Beechworth Montessori School In Victoria’s North-east Is Doing

After recycling part of a former Aged Care facility, left vacant and unused for almost a decade, Beechworth Montessori is going for a crowd-funded solar panel installation project, helped by CORENA.

Shortly the school will receive an interest-free loan to go towards the purchase and installation of a new solar system (around 10-15KW in size and to be mounted on the building’d roof).

From the savings to the electricity bill, the school will repay the loan, which in turn will be ‘recycled’ to support anotyher similar community project (and so on as the next community group in turn repays its loan).

The loan can be further reduced by donations made to the Beechworth Montessori Building Fund – all fully tax deductable.

At the end of the loan repayment, the school will own the solar system and it expects to see a significant saving in the amount of electricity it has to buy off the grid.

Some Of The Website Comments On This Project

• Go Solar!
• Do it, do it now!
• Committed to a clean future
• While the politicians argue, the people need to take matters into their own hands!
• To a renewable future!
• For the people & the planet
• Using natural resources to strengthen our communities
• Excellent concept – may it succeed and snowball
• a truly sane use of capital!

Beechworth People-Power In Action

This Quick Win Project started raising funds 21 July 2014 with a target of $16,000. So far they have raised nearly $600.

An excellent people-powered project!