MASH stands for ‘More Australian Solar Homes‘, and that’s the aim of this community solar bulk-buy operating throughout Central Victoria.
MASH makes getting rooftop solar and storage easy and affordable for households, businesses and other organisations. It does this by offering discounted prices off respected solar system brands.
With headquarters in Castlemaine, MASH started in September 2014 with Joanna Kaptein at the helm. Its aim is to help cut carbon emissions across the region, and solar is one great way of doing so. Originally, MASH stood for ‘Mount Alexander Solar Homes’. However, it grew to include not only Mount Alexander but the City of Greater Bendigo and Macedon Ranges Shire as well. Thus ‘More Australian Solar Homes’ was born.
Since 2014 the MASH bulk-buy program has achieved:
- 800 new solar rooftops
- 12,000 panels installed
- $640,000 per year off residents’ electricity bills (approx)
- 4,500 tonnes CO2 emissions cut annually (equal to approx 900 cars off the road)
- Six free solar systems (over 20 kW) donated to schools and buildings used by community groups
And the big news is that residents in Hepburn Shire will soon be able to get the MASH advantage too. That is because MASH has called for tenders for a solar supplier for Hepburn. “Our Hepburn Shire service will start in the second half of April and run for the rest of 2018,” Joanna says. “That’s supported by Hepburn shire Council and also Hepburn Wind, which is awesome.”
More than just a better price: good advice is priceless
Joanna says the advantage of using a community bulk buy organisation like MASH for your solar installation isn’t just that you get a better price. It’s also a great source of information and advice for anyone looking to buy solar.
“I think people want trusted advice,” she adds. “People tell us that they love the fact we’re not for profit and we’re supported by councils. They don’t have the knowledge or the time to do all that research themselves.
“I spoke with someone today who’s an electrical engineer. He went looking for a solar system to install in his home. He said he could not believe what he was being offered, everything from rock bottom pricing for a 5 kW system up to about $15,000. People were giving him advice about whether it was suitable or not, and he said he got so confused he didn’t know what to do – and as a result he’s done nothing.”
More Australian Solar Homes: Community based, grass roots
MASH is not-for-profit, and its staff committed to making it simple and affordable to go solar. By staying true to its clean energy roots, MASH earneds the trust of hundreds of households, businesses, councils and sustainability groups throughout Central Victoria.
“People want to talk to someone from their community,” says Joanna. “So we offer a community phone line for people to call to speak to somebody on the MASH team. These are people who are passionate about renewable energy and we’ve got the experience.”
The More Australian Solar Homes project is ongoing, which means that people looking to install solar can call anytime for advice and a quote. Energy Matters is the exclusive supplier for MASH residential solar systems in its current bulk buy program.
MASH has always used a limited tender process for our suppliers. But it is now going to the full tender process. Helping will be input from the Alternative Technology Association.
“Part of finding a supplier is around product and pricing, the ability to service a lot of customers, and warranties,” Joanna says. “So the Alternative Technology Association is going to be evaluating the product performance pricing of all our tender bids.
“Because of our due diligence, we can assure people we are a trusted option. You can probably always get cheaper, but if you’re looking for high-quality, good advice and a system that is going to work for you into the future, the MASH program can help.”
Time of day feed-in tariff will stimulate demand
More Australian Solar Homes also runs community outreach programs and attends clean energy events in the region to spread the word about solar power. The expansion into Hepburn Shire in April has the backing of the Council as well as Hepburn Wind.
“Hepburn Shire Council has an initiative called Z-NET, which is aiming for zero net emissions for the shire and they have funds from Sustainability Victoria. Our bulk buy program fits into their initiative really well, so we’ll be involved in Z-NET events and community programs.”
Finally, Joanna says she is excited about the Victorian Essential Services Commission decision to introduce a varying, time of day feed-in tariff for solar users. The time-varying tariff will be between 7.2 cents and 29 cents, depending on the time of day.
“We believe that’s really going to stimulate demand for solar systems,” she says, urging Victorians to find out more.
“We conduct a series of community meetings in the region when we do a major round of installations, so there are lots of opportunities for people to ask us questions directly.”
