Hepburn Wind is the owner and operator of Australia’s first community-owned wind farm, at Leonards Hill, about 100km north-west of Melbourne, just south of Daylesford Victoria. The 4.1 MW wind farm hosts two turbines called Gale and Gusto, who produce enough clean energy for over 2000 homes. Hepburn Wind is the trading name of Hepburn Community Wind Park Co-operative Ltd, a co-operative registered in Victoria, Australia. Hepburn Wind was established in 2007 by the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association, now known as SHARE. Despite many challenges, overwhelming support from the community has made it happen – inspiring similar projects to explore the community enterprise model for renewable energy projects. Find out more
Our Values
Co-operatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others. Seven internationally recognised co-operative principles act as guidelines by which co-operatives put these values into practice: voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, training & information, co-operation among co-operatives and concern for the community.
Community Energy
Community energy is a nascent sector in Australia. However, in other parts of the world, particularly Denmark and Germany, it is the mainstream model and has been around for decades. Community-owned and financed renewable energy infrastructure is also growing fast in the UK, the US and Canada. Community energy enterprises give local groups a chance to make a significant contribution to reducing climate change. They can also provide long-lasting economic and social benefits to the local community. Communities all around Australia have started the journey towards building their own renewable energy projects utilising a range of technologies including wind, solar, bioenergy and mini-hydro. We have worked with the non-profit body Embark to capture our learning’s and make them widely available so that other communities may adapt the ‘Hepburn Model’, as it is often called, to suit their unique requirements. A good place to start learning about community energy is through the Coalition for Community Energy (C4CE). C4CE have a detailed knowledge hub, with practical tools for developing a local renewable energy project. Articles focus on a range of issues including technical matters, governance, and community engagement. Find out more
Tentou Network
This year Hepburn Wind became a proud partner in the Tentou Network. This global network connects community energy organisations and aims to grow the presence and involvement of community throughout the planning, implementation and investment stages of energy development. The Tentou Network includes a diverse array of organisations including; Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in Japan; Sustainable Molokai in Hawaii; Island Institute in Maine; Samsø Energy Academy in Denmark. These organisations bring a breadth of experience from engaging with their local communities, supporting investment and developing the profile of community energy. The Samsø Energy Academy is world renowned for their work assisting Samsø Island to transition to 100% renewables in only 10 years. If you would like to find out more about the Samsø Energy Academy, have a look at their website here.