From the Ops Desk
Resilient Energy Centre Program
It was actually Friday 11 September when the news came through, but I’ve held off sharing it until we had started moving through the process and officially signed a funding agreement.
But we did get an email that day from Hannah, at RACQ Community Team.
I’ll let Hannah’s wording share the news.….
What does this mean for us?
With much appreciated work from Rob, James, Niel & Noela: letters of support from FCRC & David Lee, we forwarded a submission to RACQ to install a battery to store energy from our current solar panels. Our position with Fraser Coast Regional Council, to use our facilities as either an Emergency Evacuation Centre, or a Recovery Centre put us in good stead to be considered for this grant. Should our community be without power, our church will be in a position to provide for the needs of the community with a source of power to support recovery efforts in the case of an emergency, if initiated by Council.
We are very appreciative of everyone who has been involved in this process, which should see battery installation, rectifications to our current solar panels, and hopefully an upgrade to our Wi-Fi access to be able to support telecommunications when needed. The timeline for all of this to be completed by end June 2027.
We praise God for this provision and would value your prayers as we continue to shine the light of Christ as we liaise with the RACQ Community Team and contractors involved.
Together, in Him
Nicole
But we did get an email that day from Hannah, at RACQ Community Team.
I’ll let Hannah’s wording share the news.….
“I am delighted to advise that Hervey Bay Baptist Church has been selected for funding under Round 1 of the RACQ Resilient Energy Centre Program up to the value of $48,413.41 based on the attached quote.
We were pleased to receive 76 applications from organisations seeking to become Resilient Energy Centres and play a vital role in supporting their communities before, during and after disasters. 22 of these applications were selected to progress to conditional shortlist. Following a highly competitive assessment process, your application was recommended for funding.
Your application demonstrated strong alignment with the objectives of the REC Program and highlighted the important role your organisation plays in supporting community resilience.
This funding will help strengthen your organisation's ability to remain operational and support local communities during power outages, severe weather events and other disasters, ensuring essential services and support remain available when they are needed most.
In the meantime, please accept our sincere congratulations on this achievement and thank you for the important work your organisation undertakes to support Queensland communities.
We look forward to working with you to bring this project to life.”
We were pleased to receive 76 applications from organisations seeking to become Resilient Energy Centres and play a vital role in supporting their communities before, during and after disasters. 22 of these applications were selected to progress to conditional shortlist. Following a highly competitive assessment process, your application was recommended for funding.
Your application demonstrated strong alignment with the objectives of the REC Program and highlighted the important role your organisation plays in supporting community resilience.
This funding will help strengthen your organisation's ability to remain operational and support local communities during power outages, severe weather events and other disasters, ensuring essential services and support remain available when they are needed most.
In the meantime, please accept our sincere congratulations on this achievement and thank you for the important work your organisation undertakes to support Queensland communities.
We look forward to working with you to bring this project to life.”
What does this mean for us?
With much appreciated work from Rob, James, Niel & Noela: letters of support from FCRC & David Lee, we forwarded a submission to RACQ to install a battery to store energy from our current solar panels. Our position with Fraser Coast Regional Council, to use our facilities as either an Emergency Evacuation Centre, or a Recovery Centre put us in good stead to be considered for this grant. Should our community be without power, our church will be in a position to provide for the needs of the community with a source of power to support recovery efforts in the case of an emergency, if initiated by Council.
We are very appreciative of everyone who has been involved in this process, which should see battery installation, rectifications to our current solar panels, and hopefully an upgrade to our Wi-Fi access to be able to support telecommunications when needed. The timeline for all of this to be completed by end June 2027.
We praise God for this provision and would value your prayers as we continue to shine the light of Christ as we liaise with the RACQ Community Team and contractors involved.
Together, in Him
Nicole