How an Indigenous-Owned Company is Pioneering Renewables Technology in Australia
AllGrid Energy has big plans to change the country’s energy industry
Renewables in Australia are a hot topic, not only because they are a necessary path away from fossil fuel dependence, but because of the perceived volatility towards the sector from the country’s current government. Individuals and small organisations, fed up with the lack of leadership, have decided to move ahead anyway. One of those people is Deborah Oberon, the spokeswoman for AllGrid Energy, Australia’s first Indigenously-owned renewable energy company.
AllGrid’s overarching aim is to change the way we relate to our energy needs by coupling this technology with a more holistic approach to energy consumption. Their inspiration is derived from thousands of years worth of Indigenous stewardship to the land. Their technology is relevant, exciting and takes on the renewables challenge through real innovation, rather than greenwashing. I spoke with Deborah recently to find out more about AllGrid’s plans to disrupt the Australian energy market.
Can you explain the types of energy storage technologies AllGrid are currently working on and the global applications for these?
We have three technologies launching or being worked on. The WattGrid 10 is a 10 kWh storage system. Solar panels can only go so far given that most of us aren’t in our houses during the day. The ability to capture the energy that’s created, store it and then use it at the time that it’s needed is really integral to the success of solar, otherwise it’s dependent on favourable feed-in tariffs and government rebates. As people become less dependent on the grid, electricity providers are becoming more and more uptight about their profit margins, so pressure is being put on governments to be less supportive in offering those sorts of rebates. Some governments are also suggesting that lowering feed-in tariffs will push more consumers towards storage.
A lot of the systems in this new market use lithium-based batteries. However, we have decided to go with tubular gel acid batteries. That’s because its a proven technology, and it’s available at a much cheaper price. We feel that lithium may still have a way to go to prove itself in this type of storage. We also feel that thought needs to be put into best practice standards when considering the risks associated with technologies that contain hazardous components. Either way, we know that the technological advancement that is happening in this field at the moment means that both gel acid and lithium will to be superseded within a few years. Today tubular gel acid is proven and cheaper than lithium. So our stance is, get the savings today and when the batteries need replacing in 8 to 10 years time, new technology can simply be swapped into our models.
The WattGrid 10 is our first domestic hybrid storage system, geared at people who are grid-connected and want to be able to put solar on or maximise their existing solar, in order to fully utilise the energy that gets generated. The system also works for residential off-grid. The next system we are releasing, the PortaGrid, has been specifically developed for remote and regional areas, off-grid, disaster zones, emergency power back-up in remote hospitals and those sorts of things. It can be manufactured in different sizes, so it can also be used to power entire housing estates.
It’s our off-grid systems that we see as having applicability across the planet, but our R&D continues to advance, so another system we are releasing next year is called BioGrid, which is a biogas generator. You can put any organic material into it and it creates pressurised LPG, which can be used for cooking stoves, heating water and so on. So if you think about all the people worldwide who are experiencing health problems due to cooking over open fires, these BioGrid systems can go into communities and help address this. Those kinds of technologies are game changers. In making the links with Indigenous groups across the planet, we are also looking to provide leadership and training programs so that it’s not just about looking at energy security and freedom, but what do we do in terms of community development in these areas. We want to support people to achieve more fully actualised lives in whatever part of the planet they’re living.
AllGrid Energy is a merger of two companies: Consolidated Industrial Holdings (CIH), an energy efficiency company working in the corporate area, and Dedicated to Indigenous Communities and Employment (DICE) Australia, an Indigenously-owned electrical contracting company. When did this merger take place and how has this been going?
These two groups have been in contact for a number of years and we had been looking for a project to combine. Releasing the WattGrid 10 seemed like a perfect opportunity to launch forward as a cohesive group. DICE Australia’s, and now AllGrid Energy’s policies relate to providing traineeships, employment opportunities and links with other Indigenous business to highlight issues Indigenous people face.
It’s a project that allows us to step forward with a really powerful message and also a compelling story. Indigenous cultures have lived in harmony with the planet’s resources for thousands of years. At this point in time, for us to be the first Indigenously-owned, renewable energy company, means we can present a message which encompasses the true fusion of Indigenous understanding, of respect for the planet and living sustainably with resources. This is coupled with a modern technology, which is one part of the puzzle of how we alleviate ourselves from our dependence on fossil fuels.
Do you feel that the Aboriginal approach of stewardship of the Earth is a model that will set you apart from other companies with less of an holistic framework?
We feel this is key, however, we see it as not so much setting us apart, but that we are all in this together. We’ve only got one planet. For us, our focus is linking up with other people, as well as Indigenous communities around the planet to both utilise this technology, and get the message out that we need to change our relationship with how we use and manage resources. What we aim to do by creating those links with other Indigenous peoples is to create a platform that we can all utilise to create fundamental change.
So besides your attitude towards land stewardship, what else sets your technology apart from the pack?
There are a number of products on, or coming on to the market. To date, ours is the most cost effective. Tesla has just announced they are releasing their Powerwall here in November but it hasn’t yet even been released in the USA. The concern we have with Tesla, is that many people seem to think it will come on to the market at $3,500, but this is its US price, it is only a 7kW system and is only a battery. So the real price may be much higher. For systems supplied battery-only, people may choose to use their existing inverter, which could have already been running for a number of years. So once you put new technology onto a piece of older technology, we expect some people may experience issues because of this combination. Our system contains a state of the art inverter, and what we are offering is a complete package at an affordable price.
We will also be establishing technology up-cycling programmes that are geared towards communities in developing countries. As our systems are installed we can re-purpose old inverters which have been replaced by the one the WattGrid contains, and donate these and panels to communities in need all over the planet. We are operating out of what is called a ‘profit for purpose’ model. We are here to succeed, but choose also to invest in social enterprises that have measurable community benefits.
Has AllGrid faced any volatility under the current government towards renewables?
It has been very disturbing these last couple of years with Tony Abbott in place, to see what can only be described as a war against renewables happening, at a time where it is beholden on all of us to start stepping up and really making some meaningful changes. At the same time, throughout the community, there has been a growing frustration with that kind of reactionary conservatism, which has been really encouraging to see. We are delighted with the change in leadership and look forward to bi-partisan support for renewable technologies and innovative solutions to mitigate climate change.
We really hope that Australia gets back on the front foot in terms of effective climate change policy. There’s no easy streets ahead of us, but everything is possible. For example, Greenpeace released a report the other day which indicates that we could be 100% renewable by 2050, and that while this will cost an enormous amount of money, the savings will far outweigh the costs of implementing those technologies. So as far as we are concerned, we just need to gain the will to start implementing the changes.
Sadly, there is also a political disconnect. The younger generations are the ones who are going to be the most affected by catastrophic climate change. They are the most environmentally aware, but also the most politically disconnected. Our political systems are very uninspiring. For us, as an Indigenously owned renewable technology company, what is so important is that here we are, with such a compelling story, with such a revolutionary and necessary technology, which will fundamentally change our relationship to the energy that we produce and consume. This can become a platform for young people and particularly young Indigenous people, to engage in.
What would you say to people who claim there should be no policies or mandates which aim to increase equality of opportunity for marginalised groups (such as the federal government’s Supply Nation scheme, which AllGrid Energy is a recipient of)?
I would say, show me a level playing field and let’s end the policies today! In terms of the First Nations’ people, Aboriginal Australians have the worst outcomes. Infant mortality, maternal mortality, poverty, lack of education, lifespan. We have higher incarceration rates of Australian Aboriginals than non-whites had under apartheid in South Africa. When this is what we are up against, it is clear that equality of opportunity policies are essential in order to attempt to close the gap.
What are you most excited about for the next ten years?
I really think that we have talked for a long time about the ‘solar revolution’, the ‘energy revolution’. But the term revolution is a mechanism of a binary system, it is stuck, it has nowhere to go. Whereas evolution is its transcendence. Evolution is also a biological response to crisis and danger. It’s not in our DNA to suicide, it is in our DNA to evolve, and to transform. At this point in time, when catastrophic climate change could be upon us and significantly change the way we live, there are no surprises that some of the most exciting technologies are being released, or are just around the corner. These are the technologies which are the tools we can use to fundamentally change the way we relate to the earth’s resources. There is no return to some Utopian existence in the past. We need to capture Indigenous understandings of sustainability and couple them with modern technologies in order to evolve and transform.
These are such exciting times, but often people seem to get weighed down with apathy and despair. But if we look globally, there are so many incredible movements for change happening with community development, technological innovation, sharing economies, crowd-funding platforms, urban farms, co-operative housing and all of the information available at our fingertips via the internet! And of course, when you get to renewables, there is no more exciting industry to be a part of!
This truly is evolution in action. It’s like the mobile phone moment, the internet moment, the TV moment. These sorts of technologies get put into place and then a few years down the track, you can’t even remember what it was like before that moment arrived. This is exactly what’s happening now with storage and renewable power generation. This is the game changer. Three years from now, across Australia, the way we relate to the energy we produce and consume is going to be fundamentally different to what it is today. How lucky are we to be here witnessing and participating in ‘the moment’?
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All images courtesy of AllGrid
