Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes pledge $12m to supply solar systems for disaster relief
Software billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and his wife Annie have promised up to $12m to install solar and battery systems in communities disconnected from the electricity grid by bushfire or flood.
The couple say they will provide prefabricated solar panel and battery systems through a new venture, known as Resilient Energy Collective, that will power up to 100 sites disconnected from the grid in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Some are relying on diesel generators, others are without power.
Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of Atlassian and a vocal supporter of stronger action to combat the climate crisis, said the goal was to find and fund a response that could be rolled out within days and, in some cases, become a long-term solution for electricity generation.
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He said Australia needed to “learn the lessons of this summer and invest in energy systems that help the planet, not hurt it”. Solar and batteries made sense because they were resilient, fast, flexible and reduced the cost of electricity, he said.
“In the future, we see a world in which many remote communities operate on solar power, off the grid,” he said. “To get this done, we need the cooperation of the energy providers. We want to work with them to identify the areas most in need.”
Cannon-Brookes has previously joined Andrew Forrest as an investor in Sun Cable, an ambitious project to power Singapore using solar power from the Northern Territory outback, and strongly backed a bill by independent MP Zali Steggall that would set a national budget for greenhouse gas emissions and introduce five-yearly climate risk assessments.
The Resilient Energy Collective project promises pre-built solar systems that can be “folded up, packed onto a truck for transport, unfolded and connected to your home or business in less than a day”.
Systems are already operating in two locations. In one, near Cobargo in south-east NSW, solar panels and batteries were installed in two days to replace diesel generators powering radio towers used by police, the Rural Fire Service, NSW National Parks and the Eurobodalla shire council.
A second system has been installed in east Gippsland to power the Goongerah community hall, which is being used by fire-affected locals for relief services, internet connection and refrigeration.
The prototype systems, using equipment from solar innovation company 5B and battery provider Tesla, have been made available to energy providers, which then identify the sites most in need. Applications can be made online. Cannon-Brookes said in the longer term the systems may be leased to energy providers to use during disaster relief.
