Yea Community Sustainability Day

This Sunday, 27 February, will see the Yea Showgrounds and Recreation Reserve filled with fun community activities for everyone to enjoy, thanks to RACV and 2030Yea after the annual event was postponed last year due to restrictions.

Bring the family along from 2-6pm to enjoy a range of free activities and refreshments, including an outdoor cinema screening of The Lorax with popcorn, a Rotary barbecue, barista coffee, ice cream and more.

The Yea Sustainability Community Day celebrates Yea and its sustainable future as a thriving, resilient community. Attendees will learn about solar power, electric vehicles, renewable energy and its impact in the area, recycling, and environmental initiatives from local experts, as well as a Taungurung and Wetlands display.

Attendees can also go into a raffle to win a $5000 RACV Solar solar panel system or credit towards a home battery.

As part of RACV’s $1 million Solar in the Regions investment program, the Yea football and netball clubs received a $115,000 solar panel system and separate battery installation - at no cost to the community.

The program aims to improve safety for regional towns by adapting community buildings and installing solar power and battery storage, giving them a reliable power supply when the grid goes down, such as during extreme weather events and bushfires.

Yea Showgrounds and Recreation Reserve was identified as a recipient because it plays a crucial role in the surrounding communities during emergencies. The town was a main relief centre during the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires; the football rooms are the designated public relief centre during emergencies, while the netball rooms are the staging area for the CFA.

The RACV solar donation also contributes to the push for Yea to become fully powered by renewable energy by 2030.

RACV Solar CEO Andy McCarthy said that the systems are designed to help buildings function independently of the grid, ensuring communications and critical power sources are still available during an emergency or when the grid goes down.

“It will also help the community with daily use by significantly reducing their electricity costs so the money saved can be reinvested back into the local community,” Mr McCarthy said.

2030Yea President Elaine Furniss said the local community energy group has three goals: encouraging energy efficiency, increasing solar PV and battery uptake, and planning for community energy with the aim of the town using 100% renewable energy by 2030.

“We are proud to work with RACV Solar on this exciting event, and we look forward to bringing the community together for a fun afternoon of activities and learning. As a community, we want to achieve energy resilience, especially during times of emergency. So, we are exploring the range of options for renewable energy in this wonderful community of Yea,” Ms Furniss said.

The solar installations at Yea Recreation Reserve include 22.5 kilowatts of solar and 48 kilowatt hours of battery storage on the football rooms, and 6.3 kilowatts of solar on the netball rooms, including Enphase Microinverter technology and a 13.5-kilowatt hour Tesla battery. Both systems can provide backup power during an emergency or power grid outage.