Rewiring Australia co-founder Dr Saul Griffith has long described Electrify 2515 as a “lighthouse project”, even before it was awarded $5.4 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) last October.

Now the local pilot to electrify 500 homes is set to shine a path for the nation.

“It's a big, big moment for us,” said Electrify 2515 Community Pilot operations manager John Buchelin, who travelled from Austinmer to Canberra last Tuesday for a press conference announcing that the government wants similar projects in every state and territory.

“We were up at 5.30am and took Saul's EV to Canberra, which was good fun,” John said. “The press conference was with a community group called Electrify Canberra. They've been doing the lobbying directly with politicians in Canberra, making the case for why this program should be expanded and why ARENA should fund other communities.

“To see another community just as excited as we were about it was super, super exciting.”

John is keen to share local knowledge with the likes of Electrify Canberra, which is part of an Electric Communities Network supported by Rewiring Australia.

“It's taken us two, nearly three years to get the pilot that we've got here in 2515. So we want to work with those communities and share our learning so that they can get it started quicker.”

Support for electrification

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has asked ARENA to consider funding more community electrification trials. It’s the first time that he has used statutory ministerial referral powers to ask the agency’s board to look at backing specific projects and the referral was part of a Labor deal with crossbenchers David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie, Lidia Thorpe and David Van.

January 28’s press conference highlighted the benefits of cheap, clean rooftop solar and follows years of advocacy by Dr Saul and the Rewiring team, who have been meeting politicians from all sides in a push to put ‘electrify everything’ on the national agenda.

“It was a very exciting thing to be part of,” John said.

“[Finance Minister] Katy Gallagher was there, Chris Bowen and then David Pocock representing the crossbench. There was a real sense of collaboration – that this is a good idea, this is worth investing in, it will help householders.”

Speakers cited household energy savings from Rewiring Australia's 2021 Castles & Cars report.

“The report basically says if you go from from gas to electric and you've got solar, you can save up to about $2000 to $3000 a year,” John said. “If you were to then change your cars [to EVs] as well, you can save up to about $5000 a year.”

While ARENA has electrification projects in South Australia and the Northern Territory, Electrify 2515 is the country’s first community-led pilot. Running until April 2026, it will provide subsidies and support for participants and real-world data to guide Australia's energy transition.

More than 600 people attended the pilot’s launch at Anita’s Theatre on a Sunday afternoon in November 2024.

“The fact that the community are on board and want to do it is definitely that first early sign this is something that should be followed,” John said.

Last week in 2515, another 50 pilot homes were approved to start the process of switching to electric cooktops, air-conditioners and hot-water systems, as well as installing home batteries and smart energy tracking devices.

2515 locals prioritise health and savings

Better health and saving money have been the pilot’s two big selling points for locals.

“For people who are retired on a fixed income, it's really about the savings,” John said. “On the other side of the life spectrum, you've got the young families who are worried about their child's health with the gas cooktops and the gas heating. We're seeing the health aspect being a big motivator.

"The subsidies have been welcomed, but a lot of people [30 so far] have actually offered to donate the subsidy back so we can have more low-income households come in, which has been really, really positive.”

John said 25% of applicants are classified low-income (ie, households with an income of less than $78,000 a year), which is on par with census data for the 2515 postcode.

Over 400 applications have been received, but the team would like more strata households, more landlords and renters.

“Four hundred is really good, but we do need to do 500 homes and we do need to get lots of different types of homes for the research,” John said.

“We still definitely need more applications. Over the next few months we'll be getting out into the community, at market stalls, presenting at community groups and running events to try to get more people to apply.”

Apply for the Electrify 2515 Community Pilot

The 2515 postcode stretches from Clifton to Thirroul. Applications to join the Main Rollout Stage close on 31 March 2025. Apply now or look out for an information stall at Coledale Markets on Sunday, February 23.