'Missing middle' clean energy funding could deliver much more than electricity
Community Power Agency
6.08.26 - For immediate release
Community Power Agency has welcomed the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s announcement yesterday1for $100 million in funding for mid-scale renewable energy assets, targeting Australia’s ‘missing middle’ in the energy transition.
Delivered through the Distribution Connected Accelerator Program (DCAP) with infrastructure debt manager Infradebt, it aims to support a pipeline of up to 16 hybrid projects, each up to ~5 megawatt capacity.
The DCAP funding comes at an opportune time, alongside yesterday’s announcement by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, to raise the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) eligibility cap from 100 kilowatts to 1 MW. Provided that these programs can be accessed by community energy groups and not just commercial parties, there is a strong opportunity to generate significant co-benefits for communities across Australia.
Existing community energy projects can see the benefit from a DCAP-style scheme.
Peter Fraser, President of the Goulburn Community Energy Cooperative, which built the $5.5 million, 1.5 MW Goulburn Community Energy Solar Farm, says,“it would have helped enormously and been very welcome, and complemented the essential community buy-in of our project. It allows communities with limited fundraising capacity to build significant mid-scale projects that serve regional needs.”
Hepburn Energy operates a 4.1 MW community-owned wind farm in central Victoria. General Manager Taryn Lane also sees the opportunities in DCAP and says, “Mid-scale renewables have been the missing middle policy wise, they are also the scale that will be closer to communities due to their location on the distribution networks.
“There is a huge opportunity here to see deeper participation from and benefit for communities, but it needs long-term certainty to build a pipeline. We hope to see DCAP expanded into the future, not just one round. Affordable finance for mid-scale projects over 1 MW, as well as the newly announced mandate for the SRES to 1 MW, will see utilisation of our existing grid and a faster transition.”
Since CPA’s inception 15 years ago, mid-scale community energy projects have faced an unequal playing field in the electricity market. CPA applauds targeted policy support for mid-scale projects, and agrees wholeheartedly with the CEFC’s sentiments that mid-scale projects make power where it's needed, cutting the need for expensive new transmission infrastructure. These projects also move from development to operation far faster than larger projects, and can deliver energy solutions that are genuinely tailored to regional needs and local communities.
CPA’s work has shown the significant impact that mid-scale community energy projects can have, providing a multiplier effect in economic terms for their local communities, alongside increasing community acceptance, participation, and building essential trust. It not only unlocks valuable untapped generation, but critical social licence and local value.
Concessional finance is already a tried and tested approach to derisking mid-scale community energy projects. The DCAP proposal must recognise the social value of local and community energy projects and that community groups can be competitive with commercial projects for a share of the funding made available.
CPA is currently running a Community Energy Incubator program, supporting seven community energy projects across NSW and Victoria to reach investment readiness. If DCAP funding were made available to projects like this, it would catalyse their development and make community energy projects more accessible to all kinds of communities.
CPA Director Claudia Hodge concludes,“This investment could be transformative for community energy, but only if community-owned projects have a genuine opportunity to participate. These projects deliver more than electricity: they build local ownership, retain value in regional communities and strengthen trust in the energy transition.”
1 CEFC, New CEFC, Infradebt program to unlock ‘missing middle’ of clean energy transition, media release, 3 August 2026.
ENDS
Available for comment
Claudia Hodge, Project Manager & Community Development
Media contact
Juliette Milbank: 0439 637 115
About us:
Community Power Agency’s mission is to collaborate with and build capacity in communities, government and industry to create renewable energy policies and projects that result in a fairer and faster transition to a clean energy economy.
Contact details:
Media contact
Juliette Milbank: 0439 637 115
[email protected]