The City of Mitcham is helping our community transition to renewable energy as part of our commitment to sustainability and reducing emissions. Find out more about our Community Renewables Program and how you can participate.
The Community Renewables Program is leading the way in creating a greener, more sustainable future for the City of Mitcham. By working together with residents, businesses, sporting clubs and associations, this innovative program is accelerating the adoption of renewable energy technologies across our community.
The program has been recognised for its leadership in driving the uptake of renewable energy and provides a simple, cost-effective way for residents to make a difference
What’s in it for you?
Through the Community Renewables Program, residents can install solar panels and batteries with no up-front costs, making it easier than ever to save money while reducing carbon emissions. By joining this program, you’ll not only help the environment but also enjoy significant savings on energy bills.
Since 2022, the program has:
- Delivered four community bulk buys, reaching over 3,000 residents.
- Helped 1,135 households install solar panels, batteries and join a Virtual Power Plant (VPP).
- Reduced an estimated 2,700 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
- Seen 31% of households report it ‘greatly reduced their cost of living’ and another 49% said it ‘somewhat reduced their cost of living’.
A broader impact
The success of the City of Mitcham's program is inspiring others. Councils like the City of Charles Sturt, City of Campbelltown, City of Marion and City of Unley have adopted and replicated this initiative, further extending its positive environmental and financial benefits.
Mayor Dr Heather Holmes-Ross is championing greater equity in the renewable energy economy, with plans to extend these opportunities to renters who often face barriers to rooftop solar installations.
"We are committed to driving positive environmental change and fostering sustainability within our community. By leading the charge on renewable energy adoption, we’re creating a greener future for everyone."
– Mayor Dr Heather Holmes-Ross
The program is being managed by our collaboration partner ShineHub, who is providing solar bulk buy for solar panel, battery, and virtual power plant solutions for residents, community battery solutions for Council and electric vehicle chargers for the council area.
Recognised Leadership in Sustainability
Our achievements have been recognised with:
- Cities Power Partnership Renewable Achiever and People’s Choice Award
- LG Professionals SA Excellence in Environmental Leadership and Sustainability Award
- Premier’s Climate Change Council’s 2024 SA Climate Leaders Award
Get Involved
Register your interest for the 2026 Bulk Buy now!
Are you a council interested in wanting to know more about our process?
FAQS
We're passionate about creating a sustainable future. In October 2019, we declared a Climate Emergency with a commitment to promoting and accelerating a community renewable energy transition.
The community renewables program will promote and facilitate the installation of solar power, which will reduce community emissions, and in many cases, reduce the cost of living for ratepayers.
We had a great start with over 1,050 people getting solar panels and or a battery. We want to build on that success by growing the size of our local Virtual Power Plant so we can offer more renewable energy benefits to more people in the Mitcham community.
Absolutely. If you signup with ShineHub for solar and/or a battery (or just a battery if you already have solar) you can stay with your existing energy retailer - there's no obligation or requirement to change retailers. The same is true if you choose to install a battery and join ShineHub's Virtual Power Plant program. ShineHub's VPP is also the only VPP on the market with no specific retailer affiliation.
We chose ShineHub through a rigorous tender process using an independent expert panel. The extensive process considered due diligence information, legal advice and a detailed assessment of ShineHub's finances and company structure. For more information about this process, read the agenda and minutes from our Full Council meeting on 22 February 2022.
We're not a renewable energy provider nor a financial institution lending money. By collaborating with ShineHub we can connect our residents and businesses with an experienced renewable energy provider selected via rigorous and independent assessment process.
No. ShineHub is the only authorised provider under the Mitcham Community Renewables Program.
We have heard of a few companies that have been claiming to be part of the program, or the bulk buy. If the quote is not from ShineHub, it's not part of the program.
If you are unsure about whether the quote you receive is in fact a quote from ShineHub as part of the program, please contact us and we will help you resolve it.
No. We are not buying or financing the Community Renewables Program. After a rigorous tender process, we selected ShineHub to collaborate with to give our community with affordable solar solutions.
Yes, you can!. About half of our bulk buy participants already had panels and just got a battery. Hear from James, a happy customer, who got a battery added to their panels as part of last year’s program.
Solar panels help generate renewable energy for your home during the day and the battery supports your power needs after the sun goes down. It’s the best way to secure affordable energy costs for the long term, allows you to have power during a blackout, and be part of the local Virtual Power Plant.
When solar panels make electricity during the day, you need to use the power straight away in the house to get the full savings. If you don’t, your solar power goes back to the grid and you only get a very small credit in return.
By adding a battery, you can store your extra daytime solar power so that you can use it at night. That way, you rarely need to use expensive grid power, and you aren’t leaving your electricity bill exposed to prices that seems to be flying up every year.
Hear from James who got a battery added to their panels as part of last year’s program.
A Virtual Power Plant (VPP) is a way to harness renewable energy for your local community, reducing electricity costs and blackouts at the same time.
The way it works is we have over 700 batteries connected up in Mitcham, controlled as a single group to support the local electricity network when it’s stressed. As the Community Renewables Program develops, we aim to make it the main power source for a Mitcham Energy Plan that everyone across Council can join, not just those with solar.
On an individual level, joining the VPP allows you to make a profit whenever your battery power supports the grid during a VPP event! It’s a great way to make a little extra money while being part of an innovative new way to power Mitcham!
Visit ShineHub's website for more information about VPPs.
Colonel Light Gardens is a State Heritage area and all development is guided by the Heritage Standards. If you live in Colonel Light Gardens and want to install solar and/or solar and battery you will need to submit a development application through PlanSA (planning portal). All applications will be referred to the State Heritage for consideration. For more information, read page 29 in the Heritage Standards. A development lodgement fee of $184 applies.
ShineHub would love to hear from local installers who are keen to get involved in the rollout of the program. To learn how you can get involved, please send an email to installations@shinehub.com.au with the subject line '' Mitcham Community Solar Program - expression of installer interest' and ShineHub's delivery team will get back to you with further information.
We recommend you submit your pre-order for the system that you are most likely to go with, or is closest to the system you have in mind. You can do that at ShineHub. From there the ShineHub team will follow up with you to answer any questions or adjust your solar system design before going ahead with anything.
No - it is simply an expression of interest. Once submitted, ShineHub will follow up with you to answer any questions you have, finalise your system design, sign off on the agreement to move ahead.
Our next bulk buy will be for Commercial property owners later in the year. At the same time, we are also looking to install a set of community batteries so that we can unlock the benefits of the local virtual power plant for renters, people in units and apartments who are not able to currently access rooftop solar in late 2023.
ShineHub are unable to install solar panels unless all traces of asbestos in the affected roof area have been remediated. It may be possible to install a battery on your property given they are commonly installed outside, in carports or a garage. If you are unsure please contact ShineHub to confirm.