Australian community energy project celebrated in global awards

Billed as the world’s most prestigious environmental award and as "the most important award for sustainability worldwide", the Energy Globe Award has been awarded to MyTown Microgrid, a local energy project hosted by the historic Victorian timber town of Heyfield.

Co-led by its core partners: Heyfield Community Resource Centre (HCRC), UTS ISF and Wattwatchers Digital Energy, MyTown Microgrid explored the feasibility of a microgrid and other local energy solutions for Heyfield, a mixed farming and timber community with a population of around 2000 about 200 km east of Melbourne in the Wellington Shire.

With funding support from the Federal and Victorian governments, the Heyfield Community Resource Centre collaborated with researchers and tech companies to address the town's energy challenges.

Spanning three years from mid-2020 to mid-2023, the project involved research, technical assessments and the development of a decision support tool. Real-time energy monitoring devices were installed across homes, businesses, and schools, offering insights on energy consumption and sustainability.

The Energy Globe selection jury noted, “MyTown prioritised community engagement, job creation, and inclusive decision-making, resulting in a free online tool to benefit other communities. Through its holistic approach, MyTown serves as a model for sustainable energy solutions in rural areas.”

UTS ISF Research Director Dr Scott Dwyer said that while a microgrid proved to be the wrong fit for Heyfield, the MyTown process had helped bring the community closer to reaching its energy goals with other options identified “that look much more promising.”  

“Now Heyfield knows exactly where it needs to focus its efforts, while it has already built the capacity and knowledge it needs for the next step in the journey towards a better and fairer energy future,” he said.

HCRC stalwart Julie Bryer, a key community architect of the Heyfield project, said the international recognition from Energy Globe was “a wonderful endorsement for the efforts of many people and organisations” and a community that had pursued its sustainability goals with “a blend of vision, innovation and sheer persistence.”

“The MyTown project lives on in Heyfield as the MyTown Energy committee, continuing to work on local energy solutions, and beyond Heyfield as a guiding beacon for other communities,” she said.

Sydney-based Austrian Trade Commissioner and Consul, Ulrike Straka, said both the quality and the diversity of the projects submitted for the Energy Globe Awards were overwhelming, which made it very difficult to choose the very best project.

“That is why I am excited and proud to congratulate the team behind the MyTown Microgrid Project at the Heyfield Community Resource Centre on winning the National Energy Globe Award 2023 in Australia,” he said.

Dr Dwyer and Wattwatchers’ Head of Impact and Communications Murray Hogarth received the award on behalf of the project team and the Heyfield community in a ceremony at the office of the Austrian Consulate General.

The Energy Globe Award is awarded annually in more than 180 countries by the nonprofit Energy Globe Foundation based in Austria. Projects focused on energy efficiency, sustainability and the use of renewable energies are honoured. The goal of the organisation is to showcase solutions to environmental problems.