So you’re interested in volunteering? In doing something meaningful and fun? In working with dynamic and inspiring people?
We’d love to have you.
Zero Emissions Solutions is an all-volunteer run community organisation working in Mosman and the Northern Beaches LGAs. We’re all about practical ways to take action on climate: things we can do that will have a real impact. No-one is going to solve the climate crisis on their own. Working together for zero emissions has to be the way forward.
Where to start?
Choose from a range of activities to match your skills and/or interests.
Solar My House is Zero Emissions Solutions flagship program. We’ve run over 30 events since 2019, reaching more than 300 households, creating guides, videos and case studies, and attending forums, local expos and online events. We’re always looking for people who are passionate about rooftop solar to get involved with organising events and taking this exciting program forward. You don’t need special skills, just enthusiasm for making a difference. If you can help, please contact Ann Charlott.
Zero Emissions Homes working group meets regularly and creates resources to save energy and emissions at home. They produce Council/LGA specific Sustainable Living Guides, the first was the Mosman Sustainable Living Guide provided to Mosman LGA’s 30,000 residents in mid 2021. They promote switching and supporting renewable energy to approx. halve household emissions. They also look at sustainable solutions including new house design, renovations, appliances, pools and policy. If you are interested in ecosmart retrofits, building trends and energy savings, please email Ursula on electric@zeroemissionssolutions.org
Out and about
The Zero Emissions Markets team launched our first market stall at Mosman in October last year. Since then, they’ve held 7 events. In 2022, their sights are set on exploring markets in the Northern Beaches. It’s a fun opportunity to meet like-minded volunteers and to have meaningful conversations with the local community. No experience required, just a big smile and an hour or two of your time! If you’re interested, please contact Lesley.
Our youngest volunteer, Theo, demonstrates how to measure household energy consumption.Mosman Markets group: Louise, Lesley, Fay
Zero Emissions Schools is run by Jenni Hagland and Liz Migliorini. They are responsible for the guides on our Schools page and they convene the Zero Emissions Schools Network (Mosman). If you’re involved in education, or if you’ve got school age children and want to get your school involved in sustainability, they would be keen to hear from you. Lots to do, from researching resources to project managing events. Please email Jenni on schools@zeroemissionssolutions.org
Worksheets to download Zero Emissions Schools Network Mosman: Mosman Public
Zoom zoom
Zero Emissions Transport is run by Ursula and the Zero Emissions Transport working group. They’ve put together great resources and guides to help electrify your transport on our Electric Vehicles and Electric Bikes pages. They’ve reached over 250 households with Zero Emissions Transport info sessions, and held 7 E-Transport Markets show and tells with electric cars, bikes, scooters and motorcycles. They’ve investigated second hand EVs, hosted a test-drive day, compiled a report on Councils installing chargers, and are creating case studies on many EVs. If you have an EV or are interested in EVs, and would like to be involved, please email Ursula on electric@zeroemissionssolutions.org
Zero Emissions Transport: E-ScooterGood storage space!
And finally…
If you’re good with words, pictures, sounds, and any other form of story-telling, Harriet wants your help. She puts together the newsletter, website, this blog, marketing materials, and tries to keep up with social media. If you’re an introvert who wants to save the world, or a wordpress genius, if you’re an instagram maven or a budding film maker, a demon proof reader or someone who just likes a yarn, just say hello to Harriet on hello@zeroemissionssolutions.org
We look forward to hearing from you!
The last six months have been our busiest so far. This is a quick run down of just some of the things we’ve been up to.
19 May: Kirsty & Anna from ZESN’s Advisory Group and Ursula attended the breakfast panel with Matt Kean MP, NSW Minister for Energy and Environment and Chris Bowen MP, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy: Climate risks and opportunities ahead. NSW has announced the ‘Energy Infrastructure Roadmap’ for renewable energy and recently announced EV initiatives.
19 May: Second Zero Emissions Schools Network Mosman event, hosted by Mosman Public School, chaired by ZESN, supported by Mosman Council.
21 May: Ann-Charlott, Ursula and local climate group friends joined the School Strike for Climate in Sydney, and tens of thousands of Australians joined in capital cities and towns across Australia, to support a net zero emissions target for Australia.
26 May: Tina from ZESN’s Advisory Group and Ursula supported the North Sydney Conversations launch event: The Climate Crisis: Hard Truths and Reasons for Hope, with author Sarah Wilson, Prof Lesley Hughes, climate scientist and MC Dan Illic. Recording here: https://northsydneyconversations.com.au/2021/04/21/truthsandhope/
1 June: The fourth Mosman Council Climate Action Community Consultative Committee Meeting met to discuss Council’s draft Climate Action Plan – Resilience and Adaptation Strategy, with Mayor Corrigan, Cr Sherlock, Mosman Council team, and community members including Ursula from ZESN. The plan will be presented to Council in July 2021, then released for public consultation.
1 June: Ursula hosted a Climate for Change Conversation with facilitator C4C Carly Robertson leading on effective communications and positive climate action. ZESN volunteers discussed volunteer events and training, with training experts Fay Redmond and Narween Otto helping organise the next events. All welcome to join the Volunteer Events and Training working group.
3 June: Solar My House LIVE in Avalon, in collaboration with Our Blue Dot, hosted by Felix Williamson with Solarpro’s David Veal as our handy solar expert. A sell out, with people turned away at the door.
5 June: Mosman Markets: Lesley, Louise, Fay and the team ran the regular stall at Mosman Markets
5 June: Northern Beaches Simplifying Solar Expo: Ann-Charlott, Harriet and Chris manned a stall at NBC’s first Simplifying Solar Expo. 350 attendees came to sessions on solar and renewable energy, and then came by to chat with us and a range of businesses and organisations involved in sustainability, including SunSpot, the Australian Energy Foundation and the University of NSW School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering.
10 June: The launch of a new rooftop solar system at Pioneer Clubhouse, Balgowlah, attended by 30 guests including Michael Regan, Candy Bingham and Zali Steggall’s chief of staff.
If you’d like to work with us, or if you’d like us to visit your workplace or community group to talk about our activities, please get in touch. And if you’d like to be part of this vibrant community, come on in!
An electric car may be more affordable than you think. Two events in April offer the chance to find out more about affordable electric vehicles.
EV Me Now!, a free webinar presented by renew.org next Monday 12 April at 7pm, organised by Clive Attwater, Vice-President of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, giving an update on EVs in Australia, Anthony Broese van Groenou, co-founder of the Good Car Co discussing affordable electric vehicles and bulk buys, and Ursula Hogben, co-founder of Zero Emissions Solutions discussing climate groups and Councils helping communities to decarbonise,
Second, we’ve organised an exclusive event with Tesla Chatswood for members and friends of Zero Emissions Solutions on Tuesday 20 April, from 6 pm to 7 pm. The Tesla is one of the world’s favourite electric vehicles. Attend the info session then book your test drive one one of the reserved Zero Emissions Solutions member test drive days. Contact Ursula Hogben with any questions.
Read more about electric cars, bikes and other clean alternatives here. The Zero Emissions Transport group includes many EV owners and they are always happy to show off their vehicles. You can meet them at Mosman Markets on the first Saturday of the month. Have a crawl around a Nissan Leaf, a Tesla and a Hyundai Kona, plus check out the latest in affordable electric transport, the scooter! If you have a motorbike licence you can take it for a test drive. Otherwise, you can test ride the electric bikes on display. See you soon!
Last Saturday we had electric cars, an electric motorbike, electric bicycles and electric scooters on display. Some were available to test drive as well (scooters and motorbikes for those with a licence).
Commuter bike? No problemNot ready for a test drive yet.Thomas’s customised Zero S Bike
Huge thanks to the Zero Emissions market team volunteers at our stall, the Zero Emissions transport volunteers with cars and bikes, and to Eat my dust Scooters and Energy Electric Bikes.
Hyundai Kona, E-Bike and Tesla Model 3Eat My Dust E-Scooters
Come and visit our next market on May 1 to see the latest in smart and fun ways to reduce your emissions.
You can also meet our friendly volunteers then make a pledge to reduce your emissions. We’ll do our best to answer all your questions about rooftop solar and reducing emissions together.
If you want to explore electric wheels before May 1 why not:
sign up for a Zero Emissions Solutions exclusive TESLA webinar on April 20, including opportunities for test drives.
To join our Zero Emissions Transport working group, contact Ursula Hogben: electric@zeroemissionssolutions.org
The pictures tell the story. In just a year, Zero Emissions Solutions has held more than 20 Solar My House parties and webinars, two Electric Vehicle webinars and a Solar Open House day. Our volunteers have attended Mosman markets, delivered flyers and hosted parties. After lengthy research, we have partnered with two businesses with renewable energy at their core.
We’ve built a core group of volunteers and found friends and colleagues across local government and not-for-profit organisations. We’ve won two grants and helped people put more than $250,000 worth of solar panels on houses in the Northern region of Sydney. This is roughly equivalent to planting nearly 5000 trees, or saving of nearly 2 million kilometres of fossil-fuelled driving!
All that remains is to say thank you to all the brilliant people and organisations who have walked alongside, including:
Our Advisory Team and all the individuals and businesses who have said ‘yes, sure, what can I do?’ And last but definitely not least, a heartfelt thanks to all our amazing volunteers, many of whom star in the video.
We are a not-for-profit association of volunteers working across the Northern Beaches and the North Shore. We operate as part of the national Beyond Zero Emissions network. Our focus is on practical projects that will accelerate our transition to net zero emissions.
“What happens if my electric car runs out of electricity?”
It’s a question Anton Vikstrom, sustainability champion, electric vehicle expert and co-founder of the Good Car Company, has answered many times. He doesn’t hesitate.
“You pull over and call roadside assistance,” he says with a wry grin.
That’s before he explains that it’s quite hard to run out. The car gives realtime updates on your remaining mileage, and you can use various apps to plan your route. Australia has a growing network of fast chargers. Plus in an emergency, unlike a petrol car, you can recharge at any standard powerpoint.
Electric cars aren’t going to fix climate change on their own but they are an important part of a zero emissions future. They’re also really smart pieces of technology. There’s something very exciting about a car which is virtually silent, needs little maintenance and runs on sunshine. If you join our community bulk-buy you could be driving one sooner than you think.
Please contact Ursula Hogben with any questions: electric@zeroemissionssolutions.org
It’s going to be a fun journey.
Community is an amazing thing! When Mosman Council decided to restart its arts and crafts market (after a COVID hiatus) a team of ZESN volunteers sprang into action by organising a low emissions market stall. Our transport volunteers brought three electric cars on display across the day, and we had electric bikes available to try out. Chris demonstrated how the variable speed pool pump can save money and Theo gave demonstrations of an energy audit kit. HUGE THANKS to everyone who worked so hard, especially Mosman Council. 10/10 would recommend!
The Sunglasses Team: Louise, Lesley and Fay
Jenni takes notes
Chris and Graeme all kitted out
Kate shows off the variable speed pool pump
Camilla, Lesley, Di and Jenni
Graeme from Bikebuffs Sydney Bicycle Tours is taking someone for a ride
Tania and Rob’s Tesla on display
Our youngest volunteer, Theo, demonstrates how to measure household energy consumption.
For other low emissions market events please visit our events page. Or why not sign up to our newsletter and get regular updates! We are a not-for-profit association of volunteers operating as part of the national Beyond Zero Emissions network. Our focus is on practical projects designed to accelerate our transition to net zero emissions.
We offer webinars and information sessions so that you can reach your own low emissions goals.
As a partner with local real estate agency Cunninghams, Georgi Bates is often asked for advice on house builds, layouts and renovations. Should we put on solar? Should we have a battery? Does solar increase the value of my house?
When I drop by to talk about sustainability trends in real estate, the answers are clear. From the street, Matt and Georgi Bates’ house looks much like its neighbours: a weatherboard cottage with a picket fence and a bullnose verandah. But walk out the back and it’s all happening. There’s a new garage going up on the back boundary, complete with solar panels to heat the new pool. There’s an electric car charger, batteries and a green wall, ready to plant.
“We’re pretty much off the grid,” says Matt. “The oven’s running off the battery and we’re feeding to the grid. We have about 6kW [of panels] on the roof, providing about 5.5kW per hour. We realistically only need about 3kW per hour for our charging and usage.
“We’ve got a Tesla [car]. We’re putting in a pool. That’s going to have heating costs, but we’re not going to run it on gas. We’re putting more solar and another battery on. We will run it on the sun and the battery.”
Matt and Georgi’s top TV tips: Ewen McGregor’s Long Way Up, a rollicking adventure through South America on *electric* Harley-Davidsons!
A self-confessed sustainability nerd, Matt has driven the research and design of their renovation. Georgi, meanwhile, has driven the Tesla.
“I’m not a car person. But particularly during Covid, working from home, the Tesla is another office, another workspace. I recently got into a petrol car and it felt like a dinosaur. It was a nice car, but it’s amazing the difference of the sound and fuel compared to battery operated.”
Housing trends
Beyond their own home, Georgi is seeing interest in solar power, sustainable building and energy efficient housing growing.
“It starts with someone [putting on solar] in the street then everyone is curious. They all speak to Matt and ask about the benefits. And I’m starting to see more of a shift with people wanting to put green gardens on their garage roofs, or looking into rooftop gardens.”
New energy rating scheme
This trend is set to strengthen with recent developments in the building codes. At the moment the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme – aka NatHERS — requires new houses to score at least 6 out of 10 for energy efficiency. In 2021, NatHERS is set to be extended to existing homes, so that when you buy or sell, just like household appliances, each property will come with an energy efficiency star rating. At which point it’s not just about saving money on a power bill: it directly affects the value of your house. So Matt and Georgi are not just champions for sustainability: they’re smart investors. Does solar increase the value of my house? Yes.
“I think sustainability is the future of real estate. It will become one of the must haves.”
Georgi Bates is a partner at Cunninghams Real Estate. Whether you are looking to buy or sell, or just to find out more about the market, she’s happy to hear from you. And if you want to find out more about rooftop solar, explore our website or come to one of our free webinars.
A guest post from Robert Gavin and Di Elliffe, owners of Evie the Nissan Leaf, who recently took them all the way from Hobart to the Northern Beaches. Rob and Di participated in the Good Car Company‘s first community bulk buy.
We are not frequent car drivers. Our preference is for active transport – riding our electric bicycles and walking – around our hometown (Hobart) and when we are in Curl Curl we use our Brompton folding bicycles, and public transport for longer trips.
But, like most families, we occasionally find a car convenient … so when our existing fuel sipping car was due for a trade-in we took advantage of The Good Car Co bulk electric vehicle purchase of second hand imported Nissan Leaf sedans – and so Evie joined our household in May 2020.
The Good Car Co is a Tasmanian-based initiative giving Australians access to reliable, affordable second hand electric cars. Register here to find out how you could be part of their next bulk buy, or join us at ‘Accelerate your transition’,our free webinar on electric transport.
Introducing Evie
Evie is a 2017 Nissan Leaf with a 30kWh battery. When we bought her she had done 13,000 kilometres, and she cost $30,000 … effectively, almost a new car at just over half the price of a current model. Inside and out, she was in perfect condition, and The Good Car Co ensure the battery is at least 85% useable prior to purchase. The cost included purchase, shipping to Australia, conversion to Australian standards, and insurance while in transit – all handled by The Good Car Co.
Removal truck
Her first job was to help us move all our household goods into storage. The back seats fold down to provide a good volume of space (though a little odd in shape). Evie excelled at this task, quietly running to and from our store with countless loads of boxes. Around Hobart she averaged 7.2 kms per kilowatt hour (30 kWh battery, so a notional range of 210 kilometres, though in practice this was closer to 170 kms for us). We charged her at home where we had off street parking and access to a household power point and our own solar panels.
Road trip
Her second job was to take us to Sydney in June. Being a city girl, a road trip was a bit of a stretch for a Nissan Leaf like Evie, but we quickly found that, as long as we were prepared to take it easy and enjoy the trip, the journey with Evie was a treat.
A cold morning in Campbelltown, Tasmania
We stayed in a small B&B in Campbelltown, Tasmania, to break our journey to Devonport where we caught the ferry. This was because the distance between Hobart and Launceston was greater than Evie’s range, so she needed a slow (overnight) charge somewhere along the way. On our return, this will not be a problem because Campbelltown now has its own fast charger.
Making friends with a Tesla, Devonport, Tasmania
A fast charger will recharge a Nissan Leaf from low to full in 20-30 minutes. An overnight charge on a domestic power point (10 amp) will take about 12 hours.
Leisurely overnight charge at a guesthouse in Tasmania
In Melbourne we charged up in Coburg and headed North. Like Tasmania, Victoria does not have a well developed fast charging network yet. It was very frustrating driving past countless petrol stations along the way to the next fast charger. … When are we going to grasp the future?.
How to charge
Using the app “Plugshare”, we plotted our trip based on available charging stations. In Victoria we stopped at Seymour Park and then at a fast charger in Euroa. The Seymour Park stop was for three hours, and we had a great walk along the Goulburn river while waiting. An EV gets you fit as well!
Travelling at speed is a big drain on the battery, and we found our optimum cruising speed with Evie turns out to be between 85 to 95 kph. At that speed we could achieve a theoretical 150 km range comfortably. Given the slower travel speed, if an alternative route was available we would always choose it over the freeway. Fortunately, the old Melbourne to Sydney road is still running close by for much of the trip. It winds its way through the countryside and it is a pleasant, quiet and comfortable alternative road to use.
After spending the night in Wangaratta we headed off into NSW via Albury. Once in New South Wales we were pleased to find that the NRMA has a network of fast chargers to compliment commercial chargers already available. Plotting a route for an electric vehicle of a Nissan Leaf range all the way to Sydney is easily done. We stopped at Yass, ready to head into our destination the next day after an overnight slow charge.
The NRMA thinking about the future and installing fast chargers across the country
On average we were charging Evie up three times a day to allow for contingencies. Just as well, actually, because we had a minor drama at Tarcutta where a fast charger was not working properly and we could not charge up at all … so we had to drive relatively slowly to the dog on the tuckerbox (Gundagai) for our next charge.
Slowly does it
While frequent fast charges are not a problem, doing four of them in one day sent the temperature of our batteries into the red zone. I learned to enjoy the slower pace the car is more comfortable with.
Entering Sydney, Evie came into her own and it was a pleasant drive from the South up to Curl Curl. By the time we reached our destination she had reached 6.9 kms per kWh, nearly the same result as suburban driving around Hobart. It cost us just over $20 for energy for the entire trip. Charging overnight at motels was included in the tariff, and NRMA fast chargers are free at the moment.
Living and driving around Curl Curl for three months, we have enjoyed having Evie there when we need her. In suburban Sydney she is achieving 7.6 km per kWh. We charge her up during the day, at home, taking advantage of home solar to get free energy from the sun. We charge up about once a fortnight. Best of all, it is really satisfying to know we are travelling in a Nissan Leaf without contributing anything towards global warming.
Job done, Evie gets back to her normal routine, shopping at the local market.
Our shopping centre has six priority spaces for electric vehicles (Stocklands, Balgowlah), so it is always easy to get a park. If we are going over 100km there is always a fast charger somewhere along the way.
Nissan Leaf: the verdict
In summary, a 30kWh Leaf is an ideal runabout for everyday suburban driving. It is easy to drive and has more than enough energy for a full day of commuting. Being 100% electric, the mechanics are simple and reliable. Nissan also produce a small electric van which can come configured with five or seven “fold away” seats. These are also imported by The Good Car Co at a good price. Although second hand, these cars look and feel like new. They will easily pay for themselves in fuel savings over their life.
The Good Car Co are a pleasure to deal with. Anthony, Anton and Sam are passionate about transitioning away from carbon based transport and they have worked out a successful business model that everyone (including the planet) benefits from.
Robert and Di are leaders in climate activism in Tasmania. They volunteer with Bicycle Network Tasmania and Coast Watchers. Their next big project is setting up Australia’s first community owned electric vehicle carshare for an apartment block in Hobart.
The Good Car Co is a Tasmanian-based initiative giving Australians access to reliable, affordable second hand electric cars. Register here to find out how you could be part of their next bulk buy.Or join us at our next EV webinar, where Anthony and Anton will be our guest speakers.
It was one of those lightbulb moments. Ursula Hogben, founding member of Zero Emissions Solutions was filling up her car at the local petrol station when, chatting to her kids, she said, ‘it’ll seem really strange to you in the future that we all put petrol in our cars and all drove around burning fossil fuels.’ Her son’s reply pulled her up short.
“Mummy, it seems really strange now. Why wouldn’t you just have a battery and fill the battery up from the sun?”
Yes. Of course. Why wouldn’t you? It was the starting point for the next Zero Emissions Solutions program, Zero Emissions Vehicles.
Video conference + Q&A, Wednesday 11 November 7 pm to 8 pm, EV Essentials + Affordable EVs. Special guests: Anton and Anthony from the Good Car Co. Book your free ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/accelerate-wed-11-nov
“If you’re trying to make a difference it feels really incongruous to then be filling your car up with fossil fuels each week and emitting greenhouse gases as you drive around,’ says Ursula. “We want to help people move away from fossil fuels and be part of industry level change. Supporting active transport, E bikes and EVs gives everyone low emissions choices.”
Electric cars in Australia
Electric cars — EVs, as they’re known in the business — are the exception in Australia, but that’s changing as manufacturers and consumers rush to catch-up with the worldwide shift to low-emissions transport. Elon Musk’s high performance Tesla has made electric cars desirable, and now other manufacturers, along with government incentives in some countries, are making them affordable. But what’s available? How do they work? Where do you get them? What do they cost?
ZESN’s Electric Transport working group has been doing the research and finding out answers to these and many more questions. Next week, Ursula will host the first of ZESN’s regular events to share what they have learnt. Accelerating your transition covers why people are buying EVs, how EVs perform, the financial savings (and the environmental benefits), and features guest speakers who will be more than happy to answer questions.
“We want to help make EVs more accessible. We looked at options and we’re glad to partner with Good Car Co a Tasmanian-based company pioneering the import of low mileage, reasonably priced (from $19,000!) second hand electric cars with a guarantee and user support. We’ve also done a research review of Councils installing EV chargers to help people who can’t charge at home. We’re very excited that Mosman Council is installing an ultra-fast charger soon!”
Webinar coming up
If you’re even slightly curious affordable about electric cars, don’t miss Accelerating your transition. Our events are informal with plenty of time for questions, and Covid-safe online for the moment, so you can join the conversation from home. EV owners will be there to share their stories, and we’ll be taking registrations from interested parties so we can make a Good Car Company bulk buy a reality.
Maybe you’ll be driving an electric car sooner than you think.
