One local council reports that it is mission complete for accessing renewable energy.

Latest reports from Lachlan Council are that their budget and the environment are reaping the benefits of their efforts in buying renewable energy, to the tune of $77,969 in the first six months.

Renewable energy comes from a source that won't run out – it is natural and self-replenishing, and usually has a low- or zero-carbon footprint – clearly good for the environment.

Lachlan was one of several councils who, in 2022, came together to buy electricity. According to Lachlan Shire Council Mayor, Paul Philips, the mission was to buy well-priced renewable energy and be able to ensure price certainty for the medium term.

“Central NSW Councils have been buying electricity together for decades and have been slammed by pricing volatility on a number of occasions,” Mr Phillips said.

“Looking into the future we formed the view that this volatility was only going to get worse. Electricity procurement is very complex and there are strict rules for what Councils can and can’t do.”

With the support of funding from the NSW Government, councils were able to buy in expert advisors in renewable energy procurement and probity.

A renewable electricity supply agreement for large sites and streetlighting was awarded to Iberdrola, a renewable energy retailer, with the contract commencing on January 1st this year.

While every Council is using renewable energy, under the rules in Australia, Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) must also be procured to claim that the electricity is renewable. LGC’s are used to track and incentivize the production of renewable energy.

To qualify for LGCs, the electricity must be generated from approved renewable energy sources that meet environmental and regulatory standards. These sources vary by region but generally include wind farms, solar installations, and hydroelectric power plants.

In this particular case, 78 per cent of all electricity procured across the 11 Councils in this contract are renewable, with some councils choosing to go 100 per cent.

“It gets better,” Mr Phillips said. “We also know from the pricing provided during the procurement phase that this region has saved $2.3m in the first six months of the contract by transferring to renewables from more traditional energy generators like coal,” Mayor Phillips continued.

The initial savings for Lachlan Shire of nearly $80,000 is in addition to the savings already achieved by Council through the solar energy project that was completed in 2021.

“I can confidently say not only has our mission been completed – but we have bought renewable energy for cheaper than black power – a win for both the hip pocket and our environment,” Mr Phillips said.