Komo Energy

06/11/2025

The Advisory Board of the Grong Grong Solar Farm, now constituted with 5 members, indirectly supports our broader vision of community-scale energy assets transforming regional Australia. It is incredible to see with what enthusiasm a group of incredible people have come together in the Advisory Board!

The Advisory Board for the Grong Grong Solar Farm today came together for its first meeting! Please welcome: Thomas Wetula, Neil Eigeland, Farley Blackman, Scott Ceely and Jonathan Prendergast (chairperson), joined by directors Gerald Arends and Simon Herron.

The Advisory Board brings together a fabulous set of experts across infrastructure, energy, renewables, business, financing, regional development and cybersecurity and information technology. On the programme today was a deep dive into project status and pathways towards adding a battery!

16/10/2025

We are back with heavy (even heavier!) lifting gear at the Goulburn Dispatchable Community Solar Farm!

On Wednesday, a 4 MWh TrinaStorage Elementa battery was delivered to site and lifted onto the prepared concrete slab. Heavy lifting gear is as dramatic as it gets in the construction of a solar/battery project!

Thank you to our contractor Smart Commercial Solar, supplier Trina Storage, Mitchell Cranes (who quite literally did the heavy lifting!) and Divall's Earthmoving and Bulk Haulage (who allowed us to the lift the battery across the fence from their yard). A great day for our community investors at the Goulburn Community Energy Co-Op!

Photo credits Nicola Fraser and Evert Willeumier.

17/06/2025

Long shadows early morning in freezing Goulburn as we prepare to lift the inverter skid from temporary storage…!

15/06/2025

🎉 A huge milestone for the Goulburn Solar Farm! 🎉

We’re excited to share that the Goulburn Dispatchable Community Solar Farm has now reached Mechanical Completion — meaning the solar panels and structures are all in place on site!

It’s been a long road — 6 years of collaboration with the amazing team at Community Energy for Goulburn and the Goulburn Community Energy Co-Op, from the early planning stages all the way through design, approvals, funding, and now construction.

Big thanks to Divall's Earthmoving and Bulk Haulage who prepared the site earlier this year, and to our contractors Smart Commercial Solar and Sol Srv who’ve been working tirelessly to get the panels installed.

We’ve been watching the progress each day with anticipation — and now we’re onto the next stage: the electrical works!

🌞 Thanks to everyone who’s been part of the journey so far. This is a solar farm built by the community, for the community — and it’s coming to life! 💛

05/12/2024

More exciting news for the Goulburn Dispatchable Community Solar Farm! 🌞

Goulburn Community Energy Co-operative Ltd has officially acquired the solar & battery project from Komo Energy after successfully raising ~$2.9 million in the local community. This marks the completion of the development, procurement, finance, and site preparation phases, which were all managed by Komo Energy.

The project is now moving into the civil works phase, led by Divall's Earthmoving and Bulk Haulage, followed by solar and battery deployment by Smart Commercial Solar.

This milestone is a proud moment for Komo Energy and highlights our community collaboration model. Over 5 years ago, we took on the project from Community Energy for Goulburn (CE4G) when it was in jeopardy of being shelved. Now, we’re handing it back fully developed with all contracts in place and budgets secured, bringing even more certainty and confidence to the local community. 😁

Check out this article for great insights on the project's journey -

On the eve of a long-awaited milestone for Goulburn’s community solar farm, an ANU social scientist has revealed a shift…

03/12/2024

Another milestone on the delivery of the Goulburn Dispatchable Solar Farm - the Construction Certificate has now been issued! With our partners Divall's Earthmoving and Bulk Haulage, we will soon get the civil works under way. Then, Smart Commercial Solar will deliver the solar and battery project.

The grant of the Construction Certificate was a challenging process. The site is formerly industrial land, heavily degraded, yet bordering a creek that flows into the Sydney Water catchment and a location adjacent to the ARTC rail corridor. We had to undertake significant site stabilisation works and work through other site constraints. We thank everyone involved in achieving this milestone!

09/11/2024

Tamworth has a proud history of innovation, from powering the Northwest of NSW through Marius Street Power Station to becoming the first Australian municipality to light its streets with electricity in 1888.

Now, with the Manilla Solar Project on the horizon, the region is embracing renewable energy and continuing its legacy of progress.

The project is open for investment until 15 November—a great opportunity to help shape the region’s green future.

Visit the Swarmer page for more details and get involved. The future is bright, and it’s powered by community!

https://swarmer.com.au/en/company/manilla-solar/overview/

*Always consider the general CSF risk warning and offer document before investing.

06/09/2024

We are seeking a talented Website Designer and Graphic Designer to support Manilla Solar in its upcoming fundraising. We are accepting expressions of interest via our website. Please share this opportunity.

https://komoenergy.com.au/website-design-and-graphic-design-for-manilla-solar-expressions-of-interest-open/

EOIs close COB Wednesday 11 September 2024.

Manilla Solar is seeking expressions of interest from web designers and graphic designers to support website development, various communications and designs for the Offer Document in supporting the fundraising stage for the Manilla Solar project, located in Manilla, NSW.

29/05/2024

We have exciting news. Komo's first project to reach construction has now started supplying power into the local grid and NSW wholesale market!

Australia’s first crowdfunded solar farm comes with lessons, including what small developers would like from networks.

03/05/2024

On our visit to the Renewable Manilla festival, we spotted this Tamworth Regional Council electric ute

We know that renewable energy is a more controversial subject in this region, so it is great to
see such leadership

Utes are a very popular car these days and it is exciting to see electric options like this LDV become available in Australia

30/04/2024

The financial benefits of tapping into low cost renewables are not available to all Australian households and businesses.

“We are seeing now we have the “haves” and “have nots”, where families with rooftop solar are protected from the ups and downs of the energy market” says Komo Energy and Grong Grong Solar Farm Director Jonathan Prendergast

We enjoyed hosting the ABC’s Jo Lauder and participating in this story

08/04/2024

Large scale solar and wind projects, along with new transmission lines, are having challenges building local regional support.

Community Energy projects are an opportunity to build such support.

A podcast with Community Power Agency's Dr Jarra Hicks

Dr Jarra Hicks discussed how community focused energy projects are more likely to win hearts and minds for the energy transition.