Z-NET

Zero Net Energy Town

Solar J

Creating Australia’s first town which satisfies all of its own energy needs from renewable energy sources.

Key Achievements:

Impact

Technical design file of a solar and smart energy system.

Project Scope

A rural town of population 5,000, Uralla spends some $20-40m on energy costs in total each year. Z-NET provides a potentially profound opportunity to transform energy from being a cost, into the basis for a sustainable economic model through revenue, industry, business and employment.

Enhar is providing critical input on renewable energy resource, energy efficiency potential, and supply demand modelling, specifically:

  • Load analysis from the zone substation - estimating the load profile for the region, peak loads, and annual demand.
  • High level renewable resource analysis for the Uralla Shire area for energy efficiency, solar, wind, biomass
  • Demand supply modelling (using HOMER) to develop scenarios for achieving zero net energy and assist MEFL in the development of business cases.

Project Details

Enhar joined the Moreland Energy Foundation’s consortium for this strategic project which will create a Blueprint for regional towns to obtain 100% of their energy from renewables. Bids were received from 17 other consultancies throughout Australia, indicative of the high level of interest in servicing community-led renewable energy projects.

A man working on electrical schematics at an ergonomic desk
A man working on solar panels on a roof

Project Challenges

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