Hepburn Shire hits 42% renewables, paving way to zero-net energy

Published on 10 March 2022

The Hepburn Shire community has reached 42% renewables, outperforming Victoria’s state average of 29% and powering the Shire’s transition to zero-net energy with local solar and wind.

This news comes from Hepburn Z-NET, a collaborative partnership helping the Shire move towards zero-net energy by 2025 and zero-net emissions by 2030.

They recently completed an electricity audit of the whole Shire, finding that net emissions from electricity in FY2021 dropped 6,640 tonnes, to 35,640 tonnes of carbon over the year.

A large reason for this reduction was the increasing number of households taking up solar, with solar generating 17,840MWh over the year and Hepburn Wind generating 10,150MWh.

The audit also found that renewables were growing across each of the Shire wards, with growth of up to 6% being registered for 2021. Community members on the Z-NET roundtable were excited to see the proportion of renewables growing across the Shire. Barbara Curzon-Siggers, a roundtable member and Clunes resident, said these outcomes are a welcome step forward.

“Our community has taken real leadership when it comes to energy and emissions and these latest figures demonstrate how local action and ambition can have a big impact.”

Hepburn Z-NET partnership programs have been helping the Shire to tackle emissions in various sectors, ranging from transport, land-use change, stationary energy and waste.

Hepburn Shire Mayor Tim Drylie said that Hepburn Z-NET was a game-changer for community-led energy transitions and climate action.

“Hepburn Z-NET is leading the way when it comes to tackling climate change head-on. Reaching 42% renewables across the shire demonstrates the commitment of residents to build a more sustainable future,” said Mayor, Cr Tim Drylie.

If you would like to find out more about Hepburn Z-NET and their recent achievement, you can view the website here: https://z-net.org.au/hepburn/