Inner West Community Energy

16/08/2026

“HOW TO SAVE WITH SOLAR AND BATTERIES” - THIS TUESDAY NIGHT!

We’ll be back at the Royal Hotel in Norton Street, Leichhardt, on Tuesday night, this time at an event co-hosted by Solar Citizens, the national advocacy group for solar energy.

You’ll hear about their work promoting renewables, how Inner West Community Energy can help you with solar, batteries and the full electrification journey, and then there’ll be a briefing on virtual power plants, peer-to-peer trading, and Solar Sharer.

It’ll be a fast-moving, friendly session with plenty of time to ask questions. Solar Citizens has ordered food, too!

It’ll start at 7pm sharp and run for a bit over an hour.

It’s a free event but please book here via Humanitix:

https://events.humanitix.com/affordable-home-energy-hub-solar-made-simple/tickets

11/08/2026

SEE YOU AT FERRAGOSTO THIS SUNDAY!

Inner West Community Energy will be back again this year at Ferragosto in Five Dock this Sunday, from 10am.

It’s mid winter but spring is around the corner, so now is the best time to be planning your rooftop solar installation. We’re your local community energy group, here to make your solar journey a lot easier.

Oh, you have solar, but now want a battery? We can help there, too.

In fact, any advice you need for the full electrification journey - hot water heat pumps, induction cooking, getting off gas - we’re your local not-for-profit, here to help.

At Ferragosto we’ll be on stall 22, on the corner of Great North Road and Ramsay Rd, Five Dock, from 10am till 2.

Come and say Hi!

30/07/2026

POP-UP SOLAR STALL ON THE GREENWAY TOMORROW!

Inner West Community Energy will be on the Greenway tomorrow between 830 and 1030 in Haberfield at a pop-up stall organised by Solar Citizens.

We’ll be there to answer questions about solar, batteries, energy-efficient hot water systems, getting off gas - bring them to us, and we’ll do our best to answer them.

Are there still rebates for home batteries? And solar panels? How much should I pay for an EV charger? Are there rebates for hot water heat pumps? What is three-phase power anyway?

We’ve now reached 542 solar PV systems and 168 home batteries completed, so if there’s a question we can’t answer, we know how to find out!

And if you’re wondering if you’re paying the best price for electricity - they all seem to have gone up at the start of this month - bring your new pricing and we’ll check it out.

We’ll be at the Richard Murden Reserve on the Greenway in Haberfield, between 830 and 1030. Look out for the Solar Citizens sign.

24/07/2026

LEICHHARDT IS STILL GOING SOLAR… AND NEWS OF OUR “SUN POWER POP-UP” ON THE GREENWAY ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 1st!

Long-time Leichhardt resident Ben Stevens (pictured) was prompted to install his PV array and battery by the news that the battery rebate was going to be cut back from May 1.

“That was the kick that brought the project to the top of the queue,” Ben says. “You know how it is, there’s always a long list of stuff to do and this was the driver to get it done now.”

His new 7.1 kilowatt PV array with 13 kilowatt-hour battery is a combination of two pods and was very much limited by what could be fitted on the roof because of size. Like many houses in the inner west, small-roof size and the fact that only half the area of the roof was flat was a definite consideration.

“The guys out there doing the installation were very precise about what could be added,’’ Ben said.

Ben was quoted two days for the installation work. The first day was taken by putting up the panel rails and the panels themselves but on the second day the remainder of the work was completed in about three hours. This included the installation of the battery at the front of Ben’s home.

“We were up and running by 11 o’clock that morning,” Ben said.

As he opted to buy full home back-up, Ben can shut himself off from the grid and rely on solar and battery only.

The system app has a feature monitoring the weather, where if a big storm is coming it can automatically charge the battery from the grid.

Ben says the installation was a learning experience as one of the reasons that he had put off installing a system was the huge amount of information that was required to understand the technology and what you are actually getting, and also who to trust.

This was why Ben decided to approach Inner West Community Energy.

“That trusted connection gave me the confidence to go ahead as quickly as possible,” Ben said.

SUN POWER POP-UP
We’re holding a pop-up stall on Saturday week, August 1, from 830 till 1030 in the Richard Murden Reserve on the Greenway in Haberfield.

Bring all your questions about solar, batteries, hot water heat pumps and the electrification of everything.

It’s an event we’re doing in collaboration with Solar Citizens. See you there!

But if you would like to get in touch now, hit the green Contact Us button on the home page of our website at www.innerwestcommunityenergy.org.au.

07/07/2026

LET’S MAKE THE INNER WEST FOSSIL-FUEL FREE!

Here’s a quick reminder that tomorrow night’s Climate in the Pub at the Merton Hotel in Rozelle stars our very own solar energy expert Jasper Webster.

Jasper’s one of Inner West Community Energy’s project managers, and he’ll tell you everything you want to know about electrification around the home - costs, benefits, and how IWCE can help.

He’ll also speak about his work with Pingala, another community energy group, and their work on local social housing projects.

Climate in the Pub is a regular, informal event run by Climate Change Balmain Rozelle.

“Electrify the Inner West” is at the Merton Hotel, 38 Victoria Rd, Rozelle, tomorrow night, July 8 starting at 7. It’ll run for about an hour. There’s no need to book - just turn up.

Further information: www.climatechangebr.org.

30/06/2026

“ELECTRIFY THE INNER WEST” AT CLIMATE IN THE PUB!

That’s the topic for renewable energy engineer Jasper Webster, who’s the headline act at the next Climate in the Pub in Rozelle a week from tonight - that’s July 8.

Jasper’s one of Inner West Community Energy’s project managers, and he’ll tell you everything you want to know about electrification around the home - costs, benefits, and how IWCE can help.

He’ll also speak about his work with Pingala, another community energy group, and their work on local social housing projects.

Jasper’s one of the fast-rising stars in community energy and he’ll be there to give you all the tips you can manage on rooftop solar, batteries, heat pump hot water, induction cooktops, EV chargers and getting off gas. Bring your tricky questions!

Climate in the Pub is a regular, informal discussion event run by our friends at Climate Change Balmain Rozelle.

“Electrify the Inner West” is at the Merton Hotel, 38 Victoria Rd, Rozelle, on Wednesday, July 8 starting at 7pm. It’ll run for about an hour. There’s no need to book - just turn up.

Further information: www.climatechangebr.org.

17/06/2026

A big shout out to all our attendees at last night’s Solar and Battery Information Night at the Royal Hotel in Leichhardt, and to the staff there who made us so welcome… and served up some great finger food.

It was a session packed with more information than normal - somehow in an hour we covered solar, batteries, EV charging, heat pump hot water, insulation, bidirectional charging, retrofitting old Inner West windows with double glazing, and induction cooktops.

Gone are the days when we just talk about rooftop solar in these sessions!

Special thanks to Kel Lupis from the CSIRO who came to tell us all about the science agency’s new Living Lab project (Kel: we’re in!) and to IWCE preferred solar installer Jeff Lynton from Lynton Electrical who answered all our questions about solar and batteries.

And thanks to committee members Helen, Meloni and Penny for making it all happen.

The IWCE events team is meeting tonight to plan our next big event but in the meantime if you know anyone who wants help with solar, batteries and all things electric, tell them to hit the Contact Us tab on our website.

15/06/2026

ONE DAY TO GO!

Tomorrow night we're back at The Royal Hotel in Leichhardt for our Solar and Battery Information Night. If you've been meaning to book, now's the moment.

Don't worry if you feel like you don't know enough. That's exactly why we run these. Bring your questions (and your power bill if you've got it handy).

7pm start, doors from 6.45. Runs about an hour.

Final bookings via Humanitix:

https://events.humanitix.com/solar-and-battery-info-night-leichhardt

12/06/2026

CSIRO ENERGY EXPERT ADDED TO OUR EVENT NEXT TUESDAY NIGHT!

We’ve added another speaker to our agenda for our solar and battery information night next Tuesday in Leichhardt, Kel Lupis (pictured) from the CSIRO’s Living Lab project.

Kel is a highly experienced accredited home energy assessor who’ll speak about how we can join the Living Lab project and together contribute to a better understanding of how Australians today generate and consume energy.

He’ll also answer all your questions about home energy efficiency and how to make your home more comfortable this winter.

We’ll have one of our solar and battery experts there, of course, to answer all your questions about solar PV and batteries, and we’ll run you through how Inner West Community Energy will support you on your energy saving journey.

It’s a free event, starting at 7pm at The Royal Hotel in Norton St, Leichhardt, next Tuesday night, June 16. It'll run for a bit over an hour. And there'll be a lucky door prize!

Bookings here via Humanitix: https://events.humanitix.com/solar-and-battery-info-night-leichhardt

11/06/2026

We've gone global... for a few minutes anyway!

When China Global TV wanted a case study of a Sydney resident who had recently installed a home battery, Leichhardt resident and Inner West Community Energy member Marjan said she'd be happy to be part of the story.

Here's the result:

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-06-06/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDkwOTY0/index.html

If you'd like our help going solar, installing a home battery, or going all electric and getting off gas, our next Solar Information Night will be next Tuesday night at The Royal Hotel in Norton St, Leichhardt, starting at 7pm.

Bookings through our website. It's a free event that will run for a bit over an hour.

Australia is experiencing a surge in the use of rooftop solar and home battery storage.