The 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires hit hard in the small NSW town of Cobargo. The severe fire destroyed homes, businesses and communities.
Burned power lines and damaged infrastructure led to a widespread loss of power, cutting off communications in and out of the community and their access to essential services.
Following the bushfires, community consultation sessions were held to discuss what was needed to help the community recover from the fires. A key concern was energy security and resilience. The community wanted to make sure in future they wouldn't lose power, water, and communications for weeks after an event.
A community energy organisation was established, the Cobargo and District Energy Transition Group (CaDET), to look at improving energy resilience and security. This group received $814,044 from the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants Program. CaDET established ‘Renewable Cobargo’ and used the funding to strengthen community resilience to future disasters.
Cobargo Village is now home to Four Energy Resilient Hubs (E-hubs). Each E-hub features back-up solar systems and batteries, giving the community energy security in the event of future blackouts and emergencies.
The hubs are at the Cobargo School of Arts Hall, Cobargo Co-op, the Cobargo Rural Fire Brigade fire shed and the Cobargo RSL Memorial Hall.
During the fires, the Co-op continued to operate for two weeks without power. Transactions were written with pen and paper using an IOU system. This allowed locals to buy feed, tools, and supplies without access to bank and credit cards. Now the Co-op now has ongoing access to power, providing stability and support to the community.
Dan Williamson, Manager of Cobargo Co-Op said, “This community is not the same since the fire, it’s better. In many respects, it’s brought some beautiful and wonderful things to this town. One of them is this kind of thing happening.”
The Cobargo community also had access to Community Energy Coordinators.
The coordinators ran programs in the community until July 2024, focusing on energy resilience and efficiency. From information about solar generation, batteries and heat pumps to energy efficient home design, their input was welcomed by the community.
Debra Summer, a CaDET committee member, says the coordinators made a big impact. “It’s been a real key in not just supporting the community to understand their bills, which is very important, but to educate the community about what we can do and the need for building a resilient community.”
This is one of seven projects worth a total of $4.56 million helping to support Cobargo recover from the devastating black summer bushfires.
