A Best Practice Charter story: Girgarre Solar Farm's genuine community engagement and benefits скачать в хорошем качестве

A Best Practice Charter story: Girgarre Solar Farm's genuine community engagement and benefits

“Right from the word go, it's been communication, communication, communication that has enabled our community to not be afraid of a solar farm in its boundaries,” said Jan Smith, Chair of the Girgarre Development Group. The 93 MW Girgarre Solar Farm, developed by Potentia Energy, is a standout example of how early, genuine engagement can build trust and deliver lasting community benefits. Located west of Shepparton in Victoria, the solar farm, which became operational in 2025, has enough power to support more than 43,000 homes each year. Building on a strong foundation of communication and community trust, the project demonstrates how clean energy developments can strengthen regional economies through local procurement. As highlighted in our Best Practice Charter 2025 reports, Potentia Energy: 👉🏻 engaged We Are Vivid, a local disability support enterprise, to sort harness clips for the farm’s 169,500 solar panels, ☀️ provided solar panels to the local school, ⚡ and installed EV charging stations in Girgarre, 👷🏻‍♀️ further supporting inclusive employment and broader community outcomes. The Charter signatory reports for 2025 form the most comprehensive picture yet of the often-unseen benefits clean energy projects are delivering across remote, rural and regional Australia. Whether it’s co-designing benefit-sharing funds with local councils, supporting First Nations equity partnerships, integrating agriculture and solar, or ensuring worker accommodation doesn’t strain local housing, the reports show what’s possible when regional communities and clean energy developers partner together to build lasting change. 🤝 👉 Find out how clean energy projects are contributing to remote, rural and regional communities and explore more than 400 real-world examples in our interactive Clean energy benefits and contributions map: https://cleanenergycouncil.org.au/adv...