Our community clubs build community. 

As a local member, I've always worked with them to increase their capacity to do so.

And as a Government we want to support them by freeing up their resources to focus on that. 

That's what the Palaszczuk Government's Community Sustainability Grants have been doing.

These grants have provided funding for community groups to reduce their power bills by generating and using cleaner and cheaper energy. 

The Ukrainian Club of Queensland (UCQ) is one club that has seen immediate benefits from this 

UCQ received a grant and put it straight to work installing a solar system and and battery to help power their growing clubhouse. 

Since the War in Ukraine started over 500 days ago, the UCQ have done momentous work supporting migrants flee conflict in Europe and settle in Queensland. 

Rolling out this huge amount of community support has increased the costs of everything they do, especially the use of cold rooms, their kitchen and restaurant and general electricity use. 

However, when I visited them early this year, their system and battery had only been installed for a few months but they were already seeing the benefits of renewables. 

Within their first billing period they had seen an 80% reduction in their power usage which had saved them $1,400 a month. 

In more good news the most recently announced round of grants will see another community club benefit from transitioning to renewables. 

Coorparoo Bowls Club will be putting a $38,093 a Sustainability Energy plan in action to reduce their energy bills.