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Countrywide Energy Pty Ltd (CWE) is an Australian renewable energy company, established in 2015.

The company delivers energy from renewable sources to communities that suffer from insecure power supplies or regions in need of supplementary energy to further their development.

In the short time the business has been operating it has slated its first large-scale solar farm, a 20 megawatt solar farm in North Wangaratta and, as a result, has created a pipeline of future projects.

CWE works with municipal councils, state governments and/or private interests to: 1.	identify where reliable new energy or energy security is essential; 2.	determine what renewable resources are best suited; 3.	locate property on which new energy developments can be constructed; 4.	determine how newly created energy can be locally integrated; 5.	take advantage of financial assistance that is available from governments; 6.	fund the chosen renewable energy projects; 7.	secure third party support to distribute and retail the energy generated; 8.	seek further opportunities with alternative clean energy technologies; and, 9.	utilise mature global technologies where appropriate.

The business is location-focused delivering energy to identified areas to meet each community’s needs.

The model is unique and provides a viable option to building massive centralized energy generation plants which transmit electricity over hundreds of kilometres and, as a result, suffer transmission losses that compound the further the power is delivered.

Replacing fossil-fuel based power generation with renewables is a global goal and Australian Governments financially support the development of new large-scale energy generation installations using solar and wind in particular.

The CWE aim is to minimize transmission losses using renewable energy options, and deliver a bespoke outcome to our local partners, their energy customers, potential customers, the economy and community.

In conjunction with local and state governments, in identifying opportunities, CWE uses the prospect of new clean energy and long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with favourable pricing structures to attract new businesses to relocate to an area or encourage established businesses to expand their operations. That way the local economy, state economy, customer and ultimately CWE all benefit, as does the environment with clean energy replacing fossil fuel-based power.

With electricity prices forecast to escalate as coal-fired power stations are decommissioned, large national corporations have now commenced a PPA-securing program to shore up their energy prices in the future, thereby making energy cost a known expense rather than being at the behest of the market.

Ultimately CWE creates jobs directly and indirectly, builds sustainable long-term business relationships, creates energy security and contributes to replacing environmentally unsound power generation with renewables. As a company, it means long term PPAs, equity in major pieces of infrastructure and ongoing revenue streams.

While the community renewable energy theme is consistent, each project is customized in terms of its scale, ownership, customers, funding, equity and future.

Should a PPA not be available for a project, it will be developed on a ‘merchant’ basis where the business case still delivers an attractive return on investment.

Geoff Drucker Founding Director