The Highlights

The Maldon Neighbourhood centre is seeking to raise $6,000 to install a 3kW solar system on our new "solar pergola". This will be a fantastic community asset for years to come, providing shelter in our community garden, clean energy to our facilities and additional funding for our programs in the Maldon community, year after year. 

Every donation is tax deductible when you don't claim a reward.

Combined with switching away from bottled gas and installing more efficient split system air-conditioning, we expect to save over $1,900 on our energy bills. Our plan is to invest those savings into our community, specifically:

• Maintaining our spaces so they are safe and comfortable, including repair of a beautiful stain glassed window in our community hall;
• Supporting community lunch, a fantastic event that brings Maldon together; and
• Modelling sustainable living to the community, with training (such as backyard bounty) and events in our beautiful gardens, under the shelter of our solar pergola!

Over 20-years, we expect total energy savings to grow to more than $40,000!

Financial impact and legacy:

Combined with switching away from bottled gas, to more efficient split system air-conditioning powered by our new solar panels, we expect to save over $1,900 a year on our operating costs. During long hot summers, this will help us provide comfortable shelter for the young and elderly who frequently use our facilities, without the costs or carbon emissions.

About us:

Since 1986, the Maldon Neighbourhood Centre has provided a place for the community to come together to create, play and learn. Our core values are respect for all people, access and equity and embracing history and diversity – there is a place for everyone at the Maldon Neighbourhood Centre. The Maldon Neighbourhood Centre is often the first point of call for newcomers to town and helps bring local people together over shared interests.

We have over 100 members, 20 volunteers and at least 50 people each week use the Centre for exercise and well-being, to learn, to play or to socialize. The Maldon Neighbourhood Centre offers a range of life-long learning opportunities. The long-running course ‘Telling Stories: Professional Writing for Print, Stage and Screen’ has been the springboard for a number of locals to have their works published. We support families through the weekly Occasional Childcare service and regular playgroup events. Our range of clubs and societies provide a very affordable way of participating in social and intellectual pursuits, for example the Maldon Movies Film Society, Young West Youth Hub and walking groups.

A legacy grows:

Over time, the Maldon Neighbourhood Centre Committee, volunteers and staff have worked to upgrade the spaces, for example putting in rain water tanks and garden irrigation, landscaping, adding an access ramp, putting in energy efficiency measures and more.

We need to make sure that our great Centre is ‘fit for purpose’ into the future. This is why the split systems and solar panels are so important – we need to offer a place for respite in the increasingly hot summers and the space needs to be at a safe temperature, particularly for the young and elderly. The added expense of the split systems will be offset by the power generated by the solar panels – so we can keep those savings for other important maintenance, particularly the beautiful stained glass windows in the hall!

We are installing a 3kW solar system supplied by Natural Solar. The system consists of:

• 12 x 250W Phono panels, coming with 12 year warranties
• an ABB inverter, with 10 year warranty

The solar system has been carefully sized to ensure that most of the energy generated will be used by the Maldon Neighbourhood Centre, rather than being exported to the grid. This will maximise the value of energy produced, and savings realised by the Centre.

Giving money to this project is not without risk and we want you to understand that we have thought about it. We see three primary risks, and how they can be mitigated, as follows:

• The Centre ceases to operate: The building is owned by the Shire Council and leased to the Neighbourhood Centre.  We believe the Centre will be operating well into the future, beyond the life of the solar panels but in the case that we cease to operate the solar panels can be sold as an asset.
  
  
• The Centre has to move: The solar panels are our property and can be taken with us to new premises.
  
  
• The panels malfunction: We are using tier-1 products that are expected to perform reliably - well beyond their warranted period. If they fail prematurely, we will be able to replace them with costs recovered from the supplier, through our Clean Energy Council accredited supplier, Green Energy Options;
  
  
• The panels or heating systems do not provide $1900 value per year: The energy assessment we have conducted provides a conservative estimate of the value of the panels and new heating systems. We have confidence this assessment is thorough and accurate. While we understand our energy tariffs may change in the future, the experience of other States around Australia suggests such changes are not likely to adversely affect the value of our panels. In fact we believe that over the course of the next five to ten years the price of electricity will rise and result in greater value from the panels.