Media Release

South Australian projects by Villawood are leading a new charge in seriously sustainable housing energy.

Oakden Rise’s Community Energy Network, or CEN, provides homeowners a 100 per cent green- sourced energy option with solar and wind power – and charges almost half what major energy suppliers charge. The CEN also allows for residents’ excess rooftop solar energy to be utilised within Oakden Rise.

Villawood’s upcoming Aldinga community is set to become the State’s first net-zero mainstream greenfields community in the country. Utilising initiatives such as gas-free, solar, lot orientation, heat pumps, batteries and microgrids, it is blazing a new path for mainstream sustainable housing and premium affordability.

On top of these, Villawood has gifted almost 1000 hectares to the Yorke Peninsula’s Warrenben Conservation Park as a major biodiversity program. The land will help safeguard the future of several rare, vulnerable and critically endangered fauna and flora species. These include the Goldsack’s leek-orchid as well as the mallee fowl, bush-stone curlew and mallee whipbird, living in the park.

That’s bill-busting household savings, 100 per cent green-sourced energy, net-zero carbon, biodiversity initiatives protecting endangered species – Villawood’s new breed of sustainable community.

“These innovations are rewriting how South Australians are going to live in the future, in the very near future actually,” says Villawood CEO Alan Miller.

“We haven’t seen anything like all these elements – cost, design, sustainability , biodiversity, plus great urban design, social connection and quality – come together in such a way in any mainstream housing projects in the whole country.

“South Australia really is leading the country in responsible renewal energy delivery and holistic housing that is good for people, for nature, for the planet.”

Oakden Rise Community Energy Co’s CEN delivers 100 per cent green power to residents at a cost of 35.75 cents per kiloWatthour (kWh) compared to Origin’s 43.38 and Energy Australia’s 46.18.*

Annual use of, say, 4000 kWh, is priced at $1872 – with EA’s $2498 higher by 33 per cent and Origin’s $2319 at 24 per cent higher.

The Oakden CEN is implemented and operated by Sustainable Asset Co, part of UCS Group.

UCS CEO Stephen Ellich says the energy for the development is sourced from South Australia’s Lake Bonney wind farm near Millicent and that the new system was a fully South Australian effort which was leading the country.

“Creating a 100 per cent green energy sourced community energy network in a 1300-lot broadacre greenfield estate that permits residents to have their own solar, EV and battery is an Australian first and game-changing for the community.

“Sustainable Asset Co is thrilled to be partnering Villawood with innovating power distribution in broadacre estates. Helping residents with lower cost power when the cost of living is front of mind is critical to UCS and Villawood.”