Residents and the Carinya Court committee have welcomed the announcement they are the recipients of a $15,000 grant from Essential Energy.

Carinya Court in Boorowa is set to reduce its energy costs by at least 50 percent with the installation of solar panels and a small battery, thanks to funding from Essential Energy’s Essential Grants Program.

Manager Trish Riles said the funding came at the perfect time and would have a significant impact.

“This grant will enable us to almost clear our electricity bills each quarter and we’ll also get a battery with it to store power at night for our lights etc,” she said.

The system will power the low-cost units utilised by the residents and in turn will enable Carinya Court to reinvest energy savings into further supporting its residents.

Carinya Court was named as one of 13 community groups across the state who were selected for funding in the inaugural Essential Grants Program, which offers up to $15,000 for projects that deliver positive impacts in regional, rural, and remote communities.

Renewable energy initiatives, school beekeeping programs, and sustainable community gardens were among the successful projects in this round.

Winners were chosen across Essential Energy’s 10 operating areas for the benefits their initiatives provide in areas such as environmental sustainability, education, resilience, or the energy transition.

Many of the selected groups have demonstrated great resilience in recent years, continuing to support their communities through floods, storms, fires, and the cost-of-living crisis

“We’re proud to invest in the groups who give so much to their local community, working hard to implement positive and lasting change," Essential Energy’s Head of Sustainability Sophie Cruickshank said.

"We look forward to seeing how the grants can further support the winners in delivering their initiatives and the benefits to their local area and beyond.”

Trish said the grant application process was straightforward.

“The Essential Energy Grant was very easy to apply for," she said.

"I saw it advertised on Facebook and we applied for everything we are eligible for.

"It was an easy process and the email came through not long after to say we had the grant.”

The team’s excitement at being chosen from a large pool of applicants was clear.

“We were all over the moon about getting picked as there were over 600 applications," Trish said.

"There are conditions to follow—advertising that we received it and word of mouth—which wasn’t hard to do as we were so excited.”

With plans to expand the complex, the savings from the solar installation will help manage future costs.

“Carinya Court is about to build two more units and we’ll have a lot of extra expenses coming up—pathways, clothes lines, garden sheds—so saving on power will mean a lot to us,” Trish said.

“Bendigo Bank in Boorowa have also given us $100,000 towards our new build, so any grant we receive helps with other expenses and saves us money elsewhere.”