President’s Report: Feb 2026

This will be an exciting year for Village Power with much of our work over the last 8 years coming to fruition. The neighbourhood battery will be installed next to the entrance of the Alphington Farmer's Market by June and the Local Renewable Energy (LRE) programme will be rolled out initially with 100 households participating. At the moment we are refining the details of the programme and shortly we will be accepting applications to participate.

The neighbourhood battery will be vinyl-wrapped which will graffiti -proof it but also offers the opportunity for a substantial artwork. To this end, we are running a competition, now open, calling for Expressions of Interest from local artists and creatives. Four artists will be short-listed and asked to submit a design and the winner will be awarded $5000. See details below.

Our AGM was held on February 9 and I congratulate our new board on their election: Jenny Crosbie, vice-president, David Craven secretary, Michael Kane, treasurer and ordinary members Craig Burton, Robin Gale-Baker, Randall Pearce and Ana Spatura.