Services & Organisation Committee Meeting 10 October 2023

Noosa Council identified an opportunity to take the lead in applying for grant funding for the installation and operation of a Community Battery as a pilot to determine the benefits of such an initiative to both the community and Council. It is intended that this pilot will enable Council to make informed decisions moving forward regarding further rollout of batteries across the Noosa Shire. Noosa Council, applied for funding under the Federal Government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar - Delivery of Election Commitments Stream 1, which stipulated Noosaville as the location for the community battery. Initial research identified that community batteries are an innovative emerging piece of infrastructure, and a number of trials are being undertaken to determine the operational parameters and revenue models. Council recognised it would need to partner with an experienced industry expert to successfully apply for the grant funding and if successful, install and operate the community battery to achieve the most beneficial outcome for the Noosa community. Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF) is currently the only not for profit organisation operating an 'in front of the meter' community battery for community benefit and emissions reduction. Zero Emission Noosa Inc (ZEN Inc) is Noosa’s community group focussed on achieving net zero emissions for the Noosa LGA. Noosa Council was advised they were successful in their application for the Federal Government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar - Delivery of Election Commitments Stream 1, and, subject to the acceptance of the grant agreement, will be awarded $500,000 for the completion of the installation of a community battery in Noosaville. Generally, for a procurement of this value a public tender would be required under Chapter 6 Contract - Part 3 – Default contract procedures - Local Government Regulation 2012, as the value exceeds $200,000 ex GST. However, community batteries are a new and complicated piece of infrastructure and as such there are very few entities within Australia that have installed and operated an ‘in front of the meter’ community battery for the purpose of community benefit and emissions reduction. Council recognised that it does not have the resources to be able to execute a project of this nature on its own, largely due to the specialised expertise required. Therefore, an alternative procurement strategy is proposed. Under Chapter 6 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 a Tender Consideration Plan (TCP) is an exception that enables Council to enter into medium sized (ex. GST $15, 000 - $200,000) and large sized (ex GST. $200,000+) contracts without first inviting written quotes or tenders. Accordingly, this report recommends the preparation of a TCP as an appropriate procurement strategy for the establishment of a Community Battery in the Noosa Shire.

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the submissions received for the Environment Project Grants (Round 18), Multi-year Environment Collaborative (MEC) Grants (Round 2:2023-

1. and Environment Organisation Alliance Grants (2023-2026). This report also recommends allocation of funding for the environmental initiatives for the three Environment Grant streams as detailed in: • Attachment 1: Environment Project Grant (Round 18) Recommendations • Attachment 2: Multi-year Environment Collaborative (MEC) Grant (Round 2: 2023-2026)

Not Applicable

Year-to-date (YTD) performance against current budget as at 31 May 2023 is positive with operating revenues outperforming forecast. Operating expenditure is under forecast YTD, with an underspend in Employee Costs and Materials and Services. Capital revenues are above forecast while capital expenditure is below forecast due to timing of project delivery. YTD Financial Performance Summary Budget Actual Variance Variance Status $m $m $m % Operating Revenue $117.2 $119.1 $1.9 1.6% Above Budget Operating Expense $106.3 $105.6 $0.8 0.7% On Track Operating Position $10.9 $13.6 $2.7 24.7% Capital Revenue $22.7 $34.8 $12.1 53.4% Above Budget Capital Expenditure* $48.0 $44.3 $3.8 7.8% Below Budget

• Reflects constructed assets and intangibles only (excludes contributed) The $2.7 million YTD operating surplus comprises $2.6 million general operating surplus from activities that are funded through Council’s general rate, regulatory fees and sales of goods and services; as well an additional $0.1 million from waste operations, unspent levy and separate charge funds are constrained in reserve for future use. The general operating surplus position is also augmented by a number of incomplete grant-funded programs. Budget Actual Variance Item

YTD

YTD

YTD

$m $m $m $9.5 General business operating position (unconstrained funds) $12.1 $2.6 ($2.5) Unspent levies (constrained funds) ($2.5) $0.0 $3.9 Waste operations $4.0 $0.1 $10.9 Total Council Operating Position $13.6 $2.7 Financial statements including Statement of Income & Expenditure, Statement of Financial Position (balance sheet), and Statement of Cash Flows are included as attachments for information for Council. Figure 1: Actual Performance Compared to Budget Council’s performance against key measures of financial sustainability has been calculated as at May 2023. These statutory indicators enable the reader to assess Council’s success in managing its budget, cash and debt as well as undertaking sustainable asset management. The table below contains a snapshot of a number of key measures, with full detail included in the report. YTD Measures of Financial Sustainability Current Target Actual YTD Status Budget Operating Surplus Ratio On Track 0-10% 0.1% 11.4% Net Financial Liabilities On Track Ratio t;60% -12.8% -34.3% Cash Cover Ratio On Track 3 months 10.3 months 13.6 months Asset Sustainability Ratio On Track > 90% 176.7% 156.7%