Winton Solar Farm investing in the local community
November 30, 2024
The fourth year of the Winton Solar Farm Community Grants Program has drawn to a close with Project owner, FRV, agreeing to fund four local organisations spearheading impactful initiatives that will benefit the region.
Recipients will receive a share of $30,000 to start new projects that will enhance liveability, boost community vitality and bring positive benefits to local residents.
Winners of the 2024 Winton Solar Farm Community Grants and funded projects are:
- Room at the Table – to promote and deliver social inclusion events and activities for the region
- Benalla Health –to provide 250 garden beds to the community through the Benalla Grow Your Own project
- Benalla Health – to train 10 Peer Supporters in managing distress, mental health, domestic and family violence, bullying and harassment, self-care, grief and loss, and substance use and addiction
- Benalla Homelessness Response Group – to establish permanent storage lockers for the community, a 24-hour food relief pantry and a create a pocket guide for crisis support in Benalla
- U3A Benalla – to install a stove at Benalla Seniors Community Centre to deliver cooking classes for widowed community members and enhance social connection
Through local grants and partnerships, FRV Australia has now contributed over $200,000 to the community in support of community-led projects and initiatives. FRV Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Carlo Frigerio, said he is pleased to see FRV share the benefits of renewable energy with the broader community through the Winton Solar Farm Grant program.
“The Winton Solar Farm Community Grants Program continues to be an important part of our commitment to deliver social value alongside our core work of providing utility-scale renewable energy,” he said.
“2024 marks another competitive year for our Grants program, with many strong applications from local groups. We look forward to seeing these important projects take shape and drive benefits for the community in the coming months.”
FRV Australia would like to thank the community for their participation and interest in the program this year. More information will be made available when the program returns again in 2025.
For more information about the Winton Solar Farm and Community Grants Program please visit www.wintonsolarfarm.com.
ENDS
About the Winton Solar Farm
Winton Solar Farm features the latest in large-scale solar technology to capture solar energy and convert this into electricity for use by homes and businesses. The Project received Planning Approval in early 2018 and is has been built on a private 250-hectare site approximately 25km southwest of Wangaratta. This location is well suited to a solar farm, with very high levels of sunlight and proximity to the existing electricity grid.
The solar farm will also contribute to the achievement of Victoria’s renewable energy target. Following a 2018 public tender process, Winton Solar Farm was awarded a 15-year support agreement by the State Government for clean energy generated by the project. The tender was part of the Government’s Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) to source 25 percent of its electricity production from renewables by 2020 increasing to 50% by 2030.
Construction of the 85-megawatt (MW) Solar Farm was completed in 2021, and the asset is now up and running. The solar farm has an operating life of around 30 years.
About FRV Services
FRV Australia is one of the largest solar developers, asset owners and renewable energy platforms in Australia and one of the first solar developers to enter the Australian market and the first company to deliver a project-financed large scale solar farm in Australia with the Royalla Solar Farm near Canberra operating since August 2014. The company has developed almost 800MWdc of Australian PV assets built or under construction across 9 projects for a total project investment value of over 1 billion dollars. The activities are based in Sydney and the company has a multidisciplinary team of over 40 employees. With the ambition to continue leading the global transition to a more sustainable energy future. FRV Australia has evolved from being just a developer to becoming an independent power producer.
The company is owned by Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, a world leader in the development of sustainable energy solutions (51%) and OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans (49%); the OMERS stake is managed by OMERS Infrastructure, a global leader in infrastructure investing.
For more information, please contact Eleni Sgardelis – 0435 861 682