australian energy efficiency market industry capability report

Australian Energy Efficiency Industry Capability Report

Australian Energy Efficiency Market Industry Capability Report

Clean Energy & Environment Team July 2010


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To obtain information about the content of this report, please contact: Kerry Rooney National Industry Manager Clean Energy and Environment The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) Tel. +61 Email: [email protected] URL: www.austrade.gov.au

Any person relying on this information does so entirely at their own discretion and Austrade strongly recommends the reader obtain independent professional advice prior to acting on this information. Any reference to companies or investment activities is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement of those companies or any investment activity. The Commonwealth does not accept any liability for loss arising from reliance on the contents of this work.

mailto:[email protected]://www.austrade.gov.au/


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Table of Contents

Table of Contents................................................................................................ 3

The Australian Value Proposition ..................................................................... 4

Executive Summary ............................................................................................ 5

Energy Efficiency in Australia ........................................................................... 7 Market Overview ........................................................................................................ 7

Smart Grid Development ........................................................................................................... 9 Industrial Energy Efficiency .....................................................................................................13 Commercial Energy Efficiency ................................................................................................14 Energy Efficient IT ...................................................................................................................16 Consumer/ Residential Energy Efficiency ...............................................................................17

Policy Environment ................................................................................................. 18 Overview18 Energy Efficiency Policies .......................................................................................................19 Mandatory Australian Standards .............................................................................................21

Energy Efficiency Companies in Australia ..................................................... 23 Selected Australian Energy Efficiency Companies ............................................... 23

Energy Management Consultants ...........................................................................................24 Building Services Engineering Consultants ............................................................................27 Consulting Engineering Companies ........................................................................................30 Automation, Monitoring and Smart Meters ..............................................................................24 Energy Efficient Lighting ..........................................................................................................40 Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning ...............................................................................43 Managed Services ...................................................................................................................45 Education/ Campaign Management ........................................................................................45

Selected Multinational Energy Efficiency Companies in Australia ...................... 46

Research and Development ............................................................................. 51 R&D Organisations .................................................................................................. 51 Pilots, Trials and Demonstration Sites ................................................................... 55 R&D Projects ............................................................................................................ 57

Conferences and Events .................................................................................. 62

Appendix A: Australian Government Programs ............................................ 63

Appendix B: State Government Programs ..................................................... 70

Appendix C: Australian Government Agencies ............................................. 80

Appendix D: State and Territory Government Departments ......................... 89

Appendix E: Industry Associations................................................................. 95

Appendix F: Government reports on Climate Change ................................ 102

Appendix G: NFEE Stage One Achievements .............................................. 104

Appendix H: Energy Efficiency Information Sites ....................................... 106

Appendix I: Electricity generation industry structure in Australia106


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Australian Value Proposition on Energy Efficiency

Australias energy efficiency sector is set for expansion

Infrastructure requirements and climate change policies are increasing electricity prices, making energy efficiency a source of competitive advantage for business.

Rising awareness of green building and building retro-fitting benefits and the demands of premium tenants are driving energy efficiency in the commercial property sector.

The need to manage electricity demand, provide consumer choice, support distributed generation and storage, reduce transmission losses and improve network management is driving development of a smart electricity grid.

There are opportunities to package energy performance contracts and savings guarantees with finance, capital equipment and consultancy.

Industry uses 67% of Australias stationary energy and rising power costs, government mandated energy reviews and potential carbon prices are causing major industries to seek energy efficiency savings.

There is increasing demand for energy efficient information data storage and opportunities for remote managed services for utilities and commercial buildings.

Innovative Australian companies are seeking equity funding to grow in the energy efficiency sector, providing opportunities for technical and marketing partnerships for international investors.

Supportive Government

Australian governments recognise the importance of energy efficiency in reducing greenhouse emissions and managing electricity price rises. They are helping to remove impediments through programs which :

encourage major industrial users to identify potential energy savings

cover some of the up-front costs of energy efficient solutions

raise consumer and business awareness and increase financial incentives to save energy

drive the introduction of smart grid development

mandate energy efficient appliances and reporting on building energy performance

Australia has a wide range of energy efficient products, services and technologies

Energy Auditing and Monitoring Services and Software

Energy efficiency planning and design

Engineering and technical skills for energy efficiency implementation

Energy Management Services

Energy efficient products and technologies

Consumer campaign and information programs.


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Executive Summary Energy efficiency, or using less energy to provide the same outcomes or level of service, is one of the main strategies available to mitigate climate change. It provides major opportunities to curtail overall energy usage, reduces the need for expansion of energy infrastructure and also facilitates introduction of cleaner but more expensive electricity generation technologies, as lower power usage can balance increased unit prices. Australias low power prices act as a disincentive to energy efficiency, but concerns about climate change and recent cost increases are changing this. Energy efficiency can be applied across all sectors of economic activity, but the focus of this report is on the commercial, industrial and energy supply sectors, with some reference to the domestic household and information technology sectors.

Australian governments at all levels are taking action to remove impediments and encourage or enforce uptake of energy efficiency. The Council of Australian Governments National Framework for Energy Efficiency and National Strategy for Energy Efficiency provide national co-ordination for these efforts.

There are a number of barriers to energy efficiency in Australia, such as lack of information and education on energy saving products and practices; capital constraints on investment in energy saving infrastructure, split incentives between parties such as tenants and building owner to install energy efficient products; and limited focus by business on energy efficiency compared to core activities. Government programs such as Energy Efficiency Opportunities, Energy Efficient Homes Package and Energy Efficiency Trust are designed to overcome these barriers. There is also a growing industry effort to create awareness of the benefits of energy efficiency, reflected in the recent formation of the Energy Efficiency Council and the Australian Alliance to Save Energy.

Australia's stationary energy use by sector

Commercial 12%

Industrial 67%

Residential 21%

In June 2009 Australia's greenhouse emissions from staionary energy were assessed to be 294 million tonnes of CO2 equivalentSource Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Update June 2009; National Framework for Energy Efficiency Consutation Paper, September 2007


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There are many government and community programs and commercial offerings to improve domestic energy efficiency and control consumer power bills, through measures such as new housing standards, mandatory energy performance standards (MEPS) for appliances, installation of insulation, solar water heating, energy efficient lighting, water saving devices and smart meter rollouts. Government programs such as the Energy Efficient Homes Package often assist to pay for initial costs.

In the commercial building sector major savings have been achieved through voluntary energy efficiency building standards, energy-efficient lighting, glazing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and greater use of building automation, sub-meters and training to improve energy management. National Australian Built Environmental Rating System (NABERS) has been successfully used across Australia to measure ongoing energy efficiency once a building is operating. Commercial property lessors are promoting energy efficient and green buildings to o attract and retain premium customers. Commonwealth and State Governments set energy efficiency standards for government leased buildings. There remains a large untapped market in Australia for evaluating and retrofitting existing building stock to improve energy use.

Increased awareness of the high energy costs associated with Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) are changing acquisition practices and driving demand for more sustainable data centres. A review of Australian Government ICT purchasing has introduced energy efficiency standards for data centres and ICT purchases.

The industrial sector accounts for 67 per cent of Australias stationary energy use and thus provides the greatest opportunities to reduce Australias energy demand, particularly in energy intensive sectors including aluminium, steel and cement production. The Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program requires over 200 large business energy users to conduct energy assessments and report energy efficiency opportunities. Analysis of 165 company reports by an energy efficiency consultant estimates that implementation of all energy saving opportunities identified would produce savings for the companies of 52 petajoules of energy, worth over $650 million per year. Average energy savings identified per company were 5.6% of total energy usage. 1

Australias existing electricity infrastructure requires upgrades and redesign to facilitate the integration of distributed and renewable energy, to better manage electricity demand, particularly at peak periods, and to maintain high levels of security and reliability. The integration of sensor, metering, communication and information processing technologies into electricity networks can create an efficient smart grid. A smart grid includes grid-side applications, which reduce transmission and distribution line losses, and assist in improving fault detection to reduce restoration times; and customer-side applications, which assist consumers to better understand and manage their electricity usage. Under the Smart Grid, Smart City initiative the Australian Government has committed A$100 million to develop a smart grid demonstration project which will provide cost-benefit analysis of smart grid technology.

There has also been agreement between Australian Governments to introduce smart meters in customer premises where this is economically efficient. Currently this is occurring as part of a business enhancement by power companies in NSW and as part of a Government funded upgrade in Victoria, with trials in place in the other states and territories.

Australia is conducting extensive research and development into energy efficiency applications in areas including smart grid and distributed energy systems, building technology and efficient mining and minerals processing

1 Energetics, Energy Efficiency Opportunities, May 2009


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Australia has a wide range of energy efficient products, services and technologies, with potential for exports and outward investment activity, including

Energy auditing and monitoring services and software



Energy management services


Consumer campaign and information programs.

There are opportunities to invest in Australia in areas such as smart grid development, energy efficient building products, energy performance contracting, sustainable data services and remote managed services for utilities and commercial buildings. Australia imports much of the equipment involved in energy efficiency improvements, such as gas co-generation engines. There are business opportunities to package energy savings guarantees and finance with capital equipment and consultancy.

There are a number of innovative Australian companies seeking equity funding to grow in the energy efficiency sector which could provide strong technical and marketing partnerships for international investors.

Energy Efficiency in Australia

MARKET OVERVIEW Energy efficiency, or using less energy to provide the same outcomes or level of service, is one of the main strategies available to mitigate climate change. It can be achieved at different stages of the energy process from more effective energy generation, from reducing energy lost in transmission to point of use, from more efficient appliances and machinery, from insulation or other methods that reduce the amount of energy required to achieve an outcome, and from technologies such as cogeneration which capture and utilise otherwise wasted energy. Energy efficiency is generally the lowest cost means of reducing greenhouse emissions and can often achieve positive financial returns after short capital cost pay back periods. Energy efficiency provides major opportunities to curtail overall energy usage, reduces the need for expansion of energy infrastructure and also facilitates introduction of cleaner but more expensive electricity generation technologies, as lower power usage can balance increased unit prices. Australias cheap coal generated power prices act as a disincentive to energy efficiency, but concerns about climate change and cost increases are changing this.2 A recent study of the impact of changes occurring in the electricity industry, including an emission trading scheme carbon price, rising fossil fuel prices, requirements for investment in network infrastructure and the

2 Potential mandatory energy efficiency investment requirements, the Allen Consulting Group, April 2008, p2


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expanded renewable energy target estimates that electricity costs in some states could double by 2015, raising the business advantages of energy efficiency measures.3 There are market opportunities to achieve energy efficiency across all sectors of economic activity, but the focus of this report is on the commercial, industrial and energy supply sectors, with some reference to the domestic household and information technology sectors. While each sector is influenced by different drivers, some energy efficiency solutions apply to many sectors, and others are more industry specific.

Australia has developed a number of specific energy efficiency technologies in areas such as building automation, lighting and heating ventilation and cooling (HVAC) and also has wide ranging expertise in measuring energy use and identifying and advising on cost-effective improvements. Extensive research and development into energy efficiency applications is being conducted. Projects include research on smart grid and distributed energy systems, large demonstration sites of smart meters; buildings that demonstrate how sustainable design and automated management systems can lower running costs; cooperative research centres into efficient mining and minerals processing; and many individual projects that are seeking to improve energy efficiency in a wide array of industrial and commercial applications.

Energy efficiency is a key part of the Australian policy agenda to mitigate climate change and governments at all levels are taking action to remove impediments and encourage or enforce uptake of energy efficiency. The Council of Australian Governments National Framework for Energy Efficiency and National Strategy for Energy Efficiency direct and co-ordinate the policies and efforts of different layers of government. A number of major Commonwealth programs such as Energy Efficiency Opportunities, Energy Efficiency Trust and Energy Efficient Homes Package are outlined below. Some state governments have introduced mandatory Energy Efficiency Trading Schemes to push deployment of solutions. The NSW Energy Saving Scheme (ESS) establishes legislated annual energy savings targets that must be met through the creation and surrender of Energy Savings Certificates. In the first year the target has been set to 0.4 per cent of total electricity sales. The target will increase gradually to four per cent in 2014. Electricity retailers and certain other parties such electricity generators who supply direct to a customer and market customers who buy or sell electricity in NSW are mandatory participants in the ESS. The Victorian Energy Efficiency Target, marketed as Energy Saver Incentive, sets a target for energy savings, initially in the residential sector, and requires energy retailers to contribute to energy efficiency measures by acquiring and surrendering Victorian energy efficiency certificates. Retailers qualify for certificates through energy efficiency activities, such as providing households with energy saving products and services at little or no cost. Barriers to energy efficiency in Australia include: A lack of information and education on product energy ratings and energy saving practices; Capital constraints that restrict capacity to invest in energy saving infrastructure, especially where it has longer pay-back periods; Split incentives between parties such as tenants and building owner to install energy efficient products the landlord may pay for a more energy efficient building but the tenant benefits from lower energy costs; and

3 Not just a carbon hit on electricity prices Port Jackson Partners, August 2009


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Limited interest in understanding and realising the potential benefits of energy efficiency improvements compared to core business activities. Government programs are designed to overcome these barriers. There is also a growing industry effort to create awareness of the benefits of energy efficiency, reflected in the recent formation of the Energy Efficiency Council and the Australian Alliance to Save Energy. (See Appendix E) International companies offering innovative technologies, business models or financial solutions to overcome energy efficiency barriers should find a receptive market in Australia. Australia imports much of the equipment involved in energy efficiency improvements, such as gas co-generation engines. There are business opportunities to package energy savings guarantees and finance with capital equipment and consultancy. There are opportunities to invest in Australia in areas such as

smart grid development

energy efficient building and industrial products

energy performance contracting

sustainable data services

remote managed services for utilities and commercial buildings.

There are a number of innovative Australian companies seeking equity funding to grow in the energy efficiency sector which could provide strong technical and marketing partnerships for international investors.

Smart Grid Development

Since the 1990s, Australias electricity industry has been significantly restructured, through the dis-aggregation of many government owned utilities into separate generation, transmission, distribution and retail supply businesses and, in some cases, privatisation of state-owned electricity assets. For more information on electricity market structure see Appendix I. The sector is poised for further transformation, as a combination of new technologies and the drivers of climate change and rising electricity prices empower a shift to a smart grid which facilitates higher levels of distributed and renewable generation, customer choice and participation, real time management and operation and far greater energy efficiency.4 Australias existing electricity infrastructure requires upgrades and redesign to facilitate the integration of distributed and renewable energy, better manage electricity demand, particularly at peak periods and to maintain high levels of security and reliability. The integration of sensor, metering, communication and information processing technologies into electricity networks can create an efficient smart grid. A smart grid includes grid-side applications, which reduce transmission and distribution line losses, and assist in improving fault detection to reduce restoration times; and customer-side applications, which assist consumers to better understand and manage their electricity usage. 5 Customer applications include energy use information and management technologies downstream of the meter across residential and commercial customers, as well as the pricing and billing arrangements they support. Example components of customer applications include in-home displays and web-based portals, home area networks (HAN), smart appliances and thermostats, time-of-use pricing and programs which enable customers to have better control over their

4 Energy Networks Association Smart Networks position paper September 2009

5 DEWHA, Smart Grid Smart City Grant Guidelines, October 2009


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electricity consumption and expenditure. Benefits of these systems include the potential to reduce peak loads resulting in lower generation and infrastructure costs and reducing overall energy consumption. Grid-side applications include

Active voltage support and power factor correction, which provide potential benefits including reduced operating expenses, asset maintenance, customer savings, avoided line losses and reduced consumption with consequential emissions abatement.

Distributed storage devices that can provide electricity for residential or small commercial use during outages or reduce demand during critical peak times and enhance the integration of distributed and renewable generation sources. A number of storage technologies are available including flywheel, batteries of different types, super-conducting magnetic energy storage, compressed air energy storage and super-capacitors.

Fault detection, isolation and restoration systems which reduce the duration and/or scale of outages, and allow a degree of self-healing through re-routing of supply, providing improved reliability and repair times.

Electric vehicle support to optimise the load created by charging electric vehicles, as well as infrastructure to enable charging of batteries. Potential benefits include use of the car battery for distributed storage, integration of distributed energy and assistance in managing peak demand and associated avoidance of transmission and distribution investment.

Substation and feeder monitoring provides information that can help manage outages and optimise the nature and timing of maintenance.

Wide-area measurement provides real-time monitoring of high-voltage transmission and distribution lines, increasing transmission line capacity and the capability to more effectively and efficiently identify catastrophic (but infrequent) large-scale outages.

Distributed generation support comprises the protection, control and billing systems needed to support distributed generation, for example residential rooftop solar PV or cogeneration at residential or commercial premises, including selling back excess power to the grid in a way that supports grid capacity.

Smart metering infrastructure (SMI) includes remotely controllable interval meters with bi-directional communication, including smart meters and the communications network to support customer applications such as appliance control as well as precise and accurate data interrogation. Benefits include operational savings for distributors, such as automated, remote meter reading as well as enabling a smart grid applications

Australias first commercial-scale smart grid will be based in Newcastle, New South Wales, in a demonstration project that will lead to Australia-wide advances in energy management. The Australian Government announced that a consortium led by EnergyAustralia is the preferred applicant under the Australian Governments $100 million Smart Grid, Smart City project. Smart Grid, Smart City will deploy a live, integrated, smart grid of commercial size and scope in the Newcastle area, with parts of the trial also conducted in Newington, Sydneys CBD, Ku-ring-gai and Scone. The location of Smart Grid, Smart City will provide a reasonable representation of the wider grid to produce credible results that can inform broader industry-led adoption of smart grids in Australia. The demonstration area includes urban, suburban, and rural areas and contains diverse network, geographic, climatic and customer characteristics. The initiative will gather robust information about the costs and benefits of smart grids to inform future decisions by government, electricity providers, technology suppliers and consumers across Australia

The initiative is being delivered by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, in close consultation with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Department of


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Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and the Department of Resources, Energy

and Tourism. 6

The Australian Government is making an A$43 billion investment to build a National Broadband Network covering 90 per cent of households and operated by a new company specifically established to carry out this project. By proportion of population, the scale of fibre to the premises rollout is unprecedented internationally and the Network has potential to provide high-speed broadband to support smart grids development.7 While there is wide recognition of the benefits of smart grids, significant barriers remain. Capital costs of smart grid infrastructure are high in the low population density Australian environment, particularly in rural areas. There are also issues of split incentives, as the Australian electricity industry has been segmented into generators, distributors and retailers. Whilst distributors may accrue benefits from smart grids such as reduced losses, better management of peak demand and avoided capital costs, retailers do not benefit from improved demand management which restrains sales volumes.

Australian Electricity Distributors

Distributors State Website

ActewAGL ACT http://www.actewagl.com.au/

Country Energy NSW http://www.countryenergy.com.au/

Energy Australia NSW http://www.energy.com.au

Integral Energy NSW http://www.integral.com.au

Power and Water Corporation NT http://www.powerwater.com.au/

Energex QLD http://www.energex.com.au/

Ergon Energy QLD http://www.ergon.com.au

ETSA Utilities SA http://www.etsautilities.com.au

Aurora Energy TAS http://www.auroraenergy.com.au/

CitiPower VIC http://www.citipower.com.au/

Powercor Australia VIC http://www.powercor.com.au/

SP AusNet VIC http://www.sp-ausnet.com.au/

Jemena VIC http://www.jemena.com.au

United Energy Distribution VIC http://www.ue.com.au/

Horizon Power WA http://www.horizonpower.com.au/

Western Power WA http://www.westernpower.com.au/ Table 1

Prior to the emphasis of an entire smart grid, smart meters have been introduced to some

customer premises in recent years as a means to provide benefits including improved customer

service capability, reduced retailer risks, and network capital and operating cost reductions. In

April 2007 COAG committed to a national mandated roll-out of electricity smart meters to areas

where benefits outweigh costs. While acknowledging that a smart meter roll out could provide

benefits, COAG indicated that a national roll out was contingent on the results of a cost-benefit

analysis taking account of different market circumstances in each state and territory and the

circumstances of different groups of consumers.8 Cost benefit analysis shows varying levels of

benefits across state jurisdictions. This reflects a situation where the introduction of smart

6 http://www.climatechange.gov.au/government/programs-and-rebates/smartgrid.aspx

7 Mr Graeme Samuel, Chairman, ACCC, National Broadband Network heralds new wave of telecommunications

development, Australian Telecommunications Users Group Regional Conference, Canberra 21st May 2009

8 COAG Meeting Outcomes April 2007

http://www.actewagl.com.au/http://www.countryenergy.com.au/http://www.countryenergy.com.au/http://www.energy.com.au/energy/ea.nsf/Content/NSW+Homehttp://www.integral.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/integralenergy/home/home/http://www.integral.com.au/http://www.powerwater.com.au/http://www.energex.com.au/http://www.ergon.com.au/Default.asp?yf=true&platform=PChttp://www.etsautilities.com.au/centric/home.jsphttp://www.auroraenergy.com.au/http://www.citipower.com.au/http://www.citipower.com.au/http://www.powercor.com.au/http://www.sp-ausnet.com.au/http://www.singaporepower.com.sg/html/about_us/our_subsidiaries/australia_division/spi_assets_frameset.htmhttp://www.jemena.com.au/http://www.ue.com.au/http://www.ue.com.au/http://www.horizonpower.com.au/http://www.westernpower.com.au/


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meters is at different stages across Australia. In the ACT, New South Wales, Tasmania and

Victoria smart meter rollouts are proceeding:

NSW distribution and retail businesses have been trialling and installing smart meters on a new and replacement basis for some time. So far, over half a million smart meters have been installed across NSW and pilots are being run in remote areas.

o Since 2006, Energy Australia has rollout out more than 400,000 first generation smart or interval meters across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter, and built a carrier grade IP network, with 800 kilometres of fibre optic cable to enable two way communications. They have begun rolling out 12000 smart sensors across the network to allow greater monitoring and control, reduce power outages through faster fault location and preventative maintenance.9 Energy Australia is working with IBM, Alcatel-lucent and General Electric.

o Country Energy has committed to complete the rollout of smart meters by 2017, and have established a dedicated research and demonstration centre at Queanbeyan, near the ACT, to show how intelligent network technologies can benefit business and consumers. Country Energy is working with IBM to implement this and other trials.

In Victoria, a state wide smart meter rollout, commissioned by the Government, commenced in 2009. Australian company, Landis and Gyr and PRI Australasia won contracts to manufacture the smart meters. Silver Spring Networks is providing network infrastructure, communications devices and software to connect to electricity networks, Accenture is doing much of the systems integration. The smart meter rollout is expected to be completed by 2013.

In the Australian Capital Territory, ActewAGL is installing interval meters in all new premises and as replacements for accumulations meters when requested by customers10.

In Tasmania, there are 40,000 households equipped with prepayment meters enabled with Time of Use pricing. Aurora Energy has received approval to roll out interval meters to above 150MWh customers on a new and replacement basis under the recent network pricing determination11.

Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia have deferred the roll-out of smart meters at this stage:

Queensland is concerned with the costs of a smart-meter roll-out and has decided to instead proceed with a series of pilot studies to confirm the cost benefit analysis. The timetable will be announced before the end of 2009. In the meantime, Energy Retailers are conducting trials, including Energexs trial with air conditioning systems in homes and trials of street lighting.

Western Australia wishes to finalise the ongoing Electricity Retail Market Review before making a decision on a state-wide rollout12. Western Power announced in mid 2009 that it will install 10,500 smart meters as part of a four-year smart grid trial. The utility has just started its search for a vendor and hopes to have a preferred supplier by October in order to start installation early in 2010. Perth's eastern corridor will receive 8500 of the meters while 2000 smart meters will be rolled out in Denmark and Walpole. This is not Western Power's first step

9 Energy Australia welcomes $100 million smart grid announcement, news release, 13 May 2009.

10 Standing Committee of Officials of the Ministerial Council on Energy, Consultation, regulatory impact statement, April

2008 11

Standing Committee of Officials of the Ministerial Council on Energy, Consultation, regulatory impact statement, April 2008 12

For further details see: http://www.energy.wa.gov.au/2/3240/64/electricity_ret.pm. 5 Ministerial Council on Energy 2008, Energy Community Service Obligations National Framework, October 2008.


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towards a smarter electricity network. Last year it trialled turning off selected customers' air conditioners briefly in peak times to manage demand. It has also been installing new meters capable of recording data in short time intervals since 2005.

In South Australia, ETSA Utilities has been conducting Direct Load Control (DLC) trials since 2005/06 in order to reduce summer peak demand. The largest completed trial was undertaken over the 2006/07 summer period involving 1100 residential and commercial customers. As part of the trial consumers in the trial area were offered a $100 incentive payment to have their air-conditioner cycled off for 15 minutes of each 30 minute period. The trial revealed a reduction of approximately 40 kW between 4pm and 7.30pm on day with a maximum temperature of 36oC11. Another DLC trial is currently underway in the developing suburb of Mawson Lakes which has a high concentration of air-conditioners. The trial includes approximately 1100 customers and will incorporate results from the most recent summer period13.

Industrial Energy Efficiency

The largest users of stationary energy in Australia is the industrial sector, accounting for 67 per cent of Australias stationary energy use, mostly from key energy intensive sectors including aluminium steel and cement production, as well as mining and mineral processing, chemical and car manufacturers, recycling operators, construction and generators or other utility companies.

There are numerous ways of decreasing energy consumption and improving efficiency in industrial situations, including better monitoring, energy awareness and maintenance; introducing more efficient lighting, HVAC, motors, air compressors, pumps, furnaces, boilers, variable speed drives and process controls systems; capturing waste heat for co-generation and switching fuels.

This sector has been encouraged to identify and implement energy savings through the Energy Efficiency Opportunity (EEO) program, as well as through mandatory performance standards for industrial equipment such as the Generator Efficiency Standards Program. The Renewable Energy Target of 20 per cent by 2020 will increase the costs of greenhouse emission intensive industrial processes and encourage energy efficiency.

EEO requires large business energy users to conduct rigorous energy assessments with senior management and board sign off and to report energy efficiency opportunities. Participation in Energy Efficiency Opportunities is mandatory for corporations that use more than 0.5 petajoules (PJ) of energy per year. There are more than 200 corporations (incorporating around 1200 subsidiaries) registered for the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program, mostly in the industrial sector including manufacturing, minerals processing and chemicals. In a 2008 survey, 47% of respondents identified significant (5-10% of energy) new energy efficiency opportunities as a result of

their initial EEO assessments.14 Analysis of 165 company reports by an energy efficiency consultant

estimates that implementation of all energy saving opportunities identified would produce savings for the companies of 52 petajoules of energy, worth over $650 million per year. Average energy savings identified per company were 5.6% of total energy usage. At the time of the analysis 32 petajoules of the identified energy saving measures were in implementation phase.15 The EEO program doesnt mandate a method and various ones are used, depending on conditions. Some examples of substantial energy savings programs in Australian industry arising from the EEO and company programs are listed below.

Efficient conveyor belts are being developed for use in the mining industry. Research and development based on new laminated low energy loss belt covers is being undertaken between the University of Newcastle and Conveyor Dynamics, Inc., Veyance Belting Pty

13

Standing Committee of Officials of the Ministerial Council on Energy, Consultation, regulatory impact statement, April 2008 14

Energetics Pty Ltd Energy Efficiency Opportunities Participants Survey August 2008 15

Energetics, Energy Efficiency Opportunities, May 2009

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/hardware/soa/WA-utility-takes-remote-control-of-customers-aircon/0,130061702,339289186,00.htmhttp://www.zdnet.com.au/news/hardware/soa/WA-utility-takes-remote-control-of-customers-aircon/0,130061702,339289186,00.htm


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Ltd and Laing O'Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd to design more energy efficient conveyors for the mining industry.

Dairy processing and sugar refining industries are both considering ways of increasing energy efficiency in the production of the final product. Dairy Innovation Australia is seeking to improve the productivity of membrane operations, evaporators and spray driers; and Sugar Research Limited is looking at increasing the juice evaporation performance which largely determined the energy efficiency in sugar refining.

Nystar Port Pirie Smelter assessed their energy use in 2007-08 using an Energy Mass Balance (EMB) assessment. The EMB showed exactly where the facility was using the most energy and where it could improve efficiency and listed 27 opportunities to save energy, reduce costs and improve material productivity and production quality. These are expected to achieve not only an annual energy saving of 0.21 petajoules, and 3800 tonnes Co2-e per year, but a financial saving of A$5.5 million. The Energy audit successfully integrated into existing business decision making processes and there was strong workforce engagement. An EMB consultancy, who worked with site specific knowledge of employees, helping a 100 year old plant identify potential savings.

Thiess Australian Mining, which operates as a mining contractor, faces a number of challenges in designing an assessment process , as energy use is not fixed too any single geographic location. Equipment is moved between mine sites according to need and as such, many considerations, including terrain, climate and timing are variable. As the role of vehicles once onsite is to transfer ore, opportunities identified at one site are similar to opportunities at all sites. This lead to a representative assessment. An initial list of 206 energy efficiency ideas was filtered to remove duplicates and those that would not produce a significant improvement, and 46 ideas were ranked and scored. High scores were given to low implementation cost, greater energy saving, greater cost saving, low implementation risk and effort. Of the 46 scored, four are being implemented, with an expected energy saving of 150,800 GJ per annum16.

Incitec Pivot Gibson Island facility used a pragmatic and incremental assessment approach starting with a relatively simple process to identify and evaluate opportunities, using existing knowledge and tools, which freed time for detailed analysis of a relatively small number of projects. Initial ideas were screened using two criteria - a payback of less than four years and consistency with current business plans, which made the process more manageable and saved money as an EMB analysis was only used the processes with the highest energy use, rather than the whole site. This approach delivered early benefits of 7 per cent per year and built a case for wider implementation of EMB17.

One of the barriers to the introduction of industrial efficiency is that companies focus management resources and capital on core business activities rather than investing in energy efficiency projects which will deliver a degree of benefit over time. There may be opportunities for energy efficiency organisations to sell packaged consultancy, finance and equipment solutions to overcome this issue.

Commercial Energy Efficiency

The commercial sector, which includes commercial office buildings as well as hospitals, education, government and retail facilities, uses 12 per cent of all Australian stationary energy, mostly from lighting, heating and cooling buildings and computer technology18. In the commercial building

16

Thiess Australian Mining Business Unit, EEO Case Study, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, May 2009 17

Case Study, Incitec Pivot Gibson Island, Energy Efficiency Opportunities, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, Commonwealth of Australia, April 2009. 18

Consultation Paper, National Framework for Energy Efficiency, Stage Two, September 2007, p6.


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sector major energy savings have been achieved through voluntary energy efficiency building standards, energy-efficient lighting, glazing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), co-generation and tri-generation plants to provide power, heat and cooling and greater use of building automation, sub-meters and training to improve energy management. Australia has considerable expertise in implementing these solutions. There remains a large untapped market in Australia for evaluating and retrofitting existing building stock to improve energy use.

National Australian Built Environmental Rating System (NABERS), a national initiative managed by the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, has been successfully used across Australia to measure energy efficiency in the commercial buildings. Unlike the Green Star rating, NABERS is designed to measure ongoing energy use once a building is operating. It compares the actual environmental impact of the building to peers, using measured performance (eg energy bills) and has such can be applied to existing buildings and new buildings. Federal legislation to ensure that energy efficiency rating information for all commercial buildings is available at the time of sale or lease, the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 commenced on 1 July 2010. The Commercial Building Disclosure programs requirement to disclose information commences on 1 November 2010.

Voluntary implementation of energy efficiency has been linked to different drivers, including better management of costs or environmentally friendly branding. Commercial property lessors are promoting energy efficient and green buildings to attract and retain premium customers. Commonwealth and State Governments set energy efficiency standards for government leased buildings.

Split incentives between tenants and building owners to install energy efficient products the landlord may pay for a more energy efficient building but the tenant benefits from lower energy costs and capital constraints that restrict capacity to invest in energy saving infrastructure, especially where it has longer pay-back periods remain significant barriers to implementing energy efficiency in the commercial sector. The healthcare and education sectors offer strong opportunities for energy efficiency products and services but have significant capital expenditure hurdles.

The Australian Governments newly established $50 million Energy Efficiency Trust will bring together public and private seed funding, business skills and culture and technical knowledge to leverage investment in energy efficiency activities in commercial buildings and other business operations. The Trust is intended to encourage innovative financing solutions for energy efficiency projects, such as payment of capital costs through guaranteed savings under an Energy Performance Contract Agreement.

The Energy Efficiency Opportunity (EEO) program has enabled large energy users in both the commercial and industrial sectors to recognise the areas of excess energy use and initiate solutions. Within the commercial sector, some examples of EEO outcomes include:

The ANZ banking group has adopted energy management as a core part of their corporate responsibility. In addition to auditing energy use in their main commercial buildings, including data centres, they have adopted or updated automation technology, replaced energy hungry equipment, (for example, all computer screens are now LCD, which automatically turn off after hours) and implemented energy awareness training for staff. Sustainability design factors have been included in all new buildings and fit outs, and they have developed a web based, real time system for sub-metered sites that incorporates a management reporting system that provides business unit and building data including greenhouse gas emissions19.

19

Energy Efficiency Opportunities, first public report template, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008 Energy

http://www.nabers.com.au/www.environment.nsw.gov.au


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Woolworths operates over 3000 retail stores, petrol sites and hotels in Australia and New Zealand. The Woolworths sustainability strategy 2007-2015 has made a commitment to reduce environmental footprint in energy, water and waste, including reducing projected 2015 carbon emissions by 40 per cent from stores, offices and distribution centres. In the 2007-09 financial year, Woolworth conducted over 50 site assessments, and established that refrigeration, air conditioning and lighting accounts for over 90 per cent of total energy usage.20 They are implementing new refrigeration across their network of stores and changing lighting and air-conditioning21.

Investa Property Group uses a sub meter to monitor each discrete component of building services, which are connected to centralised metering system and database that can be accessed in real-time, and is formally analysed fortnightly. From this, Investa has implemented projects expected to save over A$1 million per annum in recurrent savings across their commercial office portfolio. These savings were delivered through operational adjustments of minor expense, including adjusting use to more closely reflect occupancy, and meters were paid back in less than three years at each building22.

Energy Efficient ICT

In 2005, an audit by the Australian Computer Society found that 7.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide or 2.8 per cent of Australias greenhouse gas emissions were from ICT and likely to increase. The decline in hardware costs and the increasing power of microprocessors has resulted in an increased energy drain for end users. Addressing excessive IT energy consumption is the latest wave of energy efficiency initiatives in the commercial sector and is being addressed by a range of technology, software, building and procedural changes. IDC predicts that energy consumption and space constraints will continue to drive investments in transforming the data centre, and greater planning of IT needs to reduce ad hoc purchases that increase server sprawl. Virtualisation is being adopted as a part of strategic planning for its proven ability to reduce operational expenditure (it has been shown to increase storage efficiency by up to 80 per cent23), thereby increasing energy efficiency. The Gershon review demonstrated that Government data centres are aging and meeting the limits of space24. A whole of Government data centre strategy will take into account overall Government policies on climate change and consider economies of scale as well as the need to meet the demands from explosive growth of data and compliance requirements25. Demand for online storage services is very strong in small, mid-size, and large firms that are facing budgetary and IT staffing pressures. There are strong opportunities for online services for backup/ disaster recovery, long-term record retention, business continuity, and availability. 26. It is likely that outsourcing to data centres will increase as scale will enable dedicated data centres to adopt newer technologies with low power requirements, and thus offer outsourced energy efficiency and carbon trading services to companies27. Significant segments that will be interested in green data

20

Efficiency Opportunities, first public report template, Woolworths Limited, 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2008 21

Woolworths Limited, First public report template, EEO Program, DRET, 30 June 2008 22

Energy Efficiency Opportunities, Industry Case Examples, Department of Industry Tourism and Resources, the Australian Government 23

M Sharma, Make the Best of existing Assets: Growing with Virtualization, Frost & Sullivan Market Insight, 12 March 09. 24

Gershon, p29 25

Gershon, Review of the Australian Governments use of information and communication technology, Australian Government, August 2008, p9 26

Storage-as-a-Service, a Precursor to the Cloud Computing Opportunity, Presents Exploding Consumer Potential and Very Strong Commercial Demand, IDC Finds, IDC Press Release, 10 Nov 2008 27

ibid


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centre services will include government, financial services, healthcare and the small to medium enterprises. Investment into Australia could include:

Co-location with renewable energy sources - Brisbane-based geothermal energy developer Geodynamics (ASX: GDY) is investigating the possibility of building a communications and storage data centre alongside its commercial demonstration plant in the Cooper Basin in South Australias far north. The cost of laying underground optical fibre from the data centres to users are considerably lower than laying high-voltage transmission cable from prospective generating stations to customers28.

New Green Data Centres - IBM is building Melbournes Victoria University (VU) first green data centre to be able to manage its increasing need for data management for the next decade, and realising expecting savings of up to $300,000 in power costs over the same period and avoid more than 230 tonnes of CO2 carbon emissions per year29.

Consumer/ Residential Energy Efficiency

The second largest users of stationary energy in Australia are residential households, with most of their energy use coming from household operations, including heating, cooling, lighting and appliances. The sector accounts for 21 per cent of stationary energy use nationally30.

Australian households have been rated as the worlds most interested in reducing energy consumption, (81 per cent of households), compared to the next highest, households in Germany and Sweden (both with 62 per cent of households) focused on increasing energy efficiency31. In 2008, 69 per cent of Australian households actively took steps to reduce their energy bills. However many consumers are confused about what they can do to reduce energy consumption while maintaining their standard of living. Ease of adoption and maintaining lifestyle are essential to the majority of the consumer market. Voluntary implementation of energy efficiency in consumer households can be driven by environmental concerns or by concern with managing household budgets.

Mandatory implementation of energy efficiency has occurred at household level through minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), performance labelling of home appliances and the phase out of incandescent light bulbs. State governments have set energy efficiency standards for new homes, and these are being incorporated into the Building Code of Australia.

There are also a wide range of federal and state government incentives to increase energy efficiency , for example:32

The Energy Efficient Homes Package will install ceiling insulation in many Australian homes and help up to 420,000 households install a solar hot water system, helping millions of households reduce their energy use and cutting power bills by up to $700 a year. The $A2.2 billion package formed part of the Commonwealths economic stimulus program and has created significant employment.

Utility companies are obliged to offer assistance to households wanting to reduce energy usage. This is done in a variety of ways, including by offering advice and promoting energy efficiency techniques in bills and on websites and collecting second refrigerators.

28

Geodynamics investigating green datacentre, Ethical Investor, 5 June 2009 29 Peter Dinham IBM building Victoria Universitys first green data centre, IT Wire, 07 April 2009 30

Consultation Paper, National Framework for Energy Efficiency, Stage Two, September 2007, p6. 31

Attitudes to energy efficiency in Australia, 2008, Datamonitor, Australian Utilities Series, September 2008, p5 32

Consultation Paper, National Framework for Energy Efficiency, Stage Two, September 2007, p6.


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The Green Loans Program assists Australian families to install solar, water saving, and energy efficient products by provision of detailed Home Sustainability Assessments and access to Green Loans of up to $10,000, that are interest free for up to a maximum of four years, to make the changes recommended in the assessment.

The Solar Cities program is testing options such as energy efficiency measures for homes and businesses, the use of solar technologies, smart meters, cost reflective pricing trials and community education about better energy usage in an increasingly energy-reliant world in seven cities. Information from these projects will be used to demonstrate benefits and identify barriers to implementation.

A number of state government programs support household energy efficiency. For example in NSW a $63-million low income household refit program will deliver home energy assessments and free energy savings kits to 220,000 low-income families. It is estimated this will help cut the average annual power bill by up to 10 per cent or $95 per year. NSW rebates are also available for installation of efficient hot water systems and disposal of second refrigerators.

Local councils, which were instrumental in encouraging household recycling, are assisting Australian consumers to reduce energy use.

In April 2009, The City of Sydney council libraries started lending "Power-Mates" - which show the electricity consumption, cost and carbon emissions from the power used by household items - and had to double the collection in the first three months to meet the demand as the libraries report that they had lists of people waiting to borrow the devices.

In the city of Sutherland, 1000 residents have saved an estimated $1.5 million on energy bills by taking part in the council's fridge buyback scheme, for second fridges

Blacktown Council has distributed 10,207 energy-efficiency packs with low-energy light bulbs to residents as part of the Blacktown solar cities project33.

POLICY ENVIRONMENT Energy Efficiency is one component of Australian policy efforts to address climate change. Australia signed the Kyoto protocol in 2007, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent by 2050. A carbon trading proposal and a renewable energy target of 20 per cent by 2020 are other major elements of climate change policy.

Overview

Carbon Trading

Australia has substantial experience in the design and management of carbon trading, as the NSW Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme (GGAS), commenced on 1 January 2003, and according to the World Bank it currently remains the third largest in the world.

Renewable Energy

An expanded National Renewable Energy Target (RET), to ensure that 20 per cent of Australias electricity is from renewable sources by 2020, more than four times the size of the previous target was passed by the Australian Government in August 200934.

33 Paul Bibby Urban Affairs Reporter, SMH, July 22, 2009 34

http://www.climatechange.gov.au/renewabletarget/index.html


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There are a number of other policies to support renewable energy, notably :

Australian Centre for Renewable Energy to accelerate the development, commercialization and deployment of renewable energy technologies in Australia;

The $1.5 billion Solar Flagship program to assist creating an additional 1000 megawatts of solar generation capacity in Australia;

Energy Efficiency Policies

Key agencies involved in energy efficiency policies include

The Ministerial Council on Energy (MCE) is comprised of ministers with responsibility for energy from the Australian Government and all states and territories. MCE objectives are to provide national oversight and coordination of energy policy development.

Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism is responsible for developing and maintaining government policies and programs for energy, including the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program and other energy efficiency initiatives.

Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, established on 8 March 2010, is charged with leading the development and coordination of Australias climate change policies and is responsible for the Renewable Energy Target and Australian Carbon Trust. The Department also promotes energy efficiency including maintaining websites and information regarding standards and ratings on appliances, equipment & fittings and community and household programs such as the National Insulation Safety Plan and Green Loans. The Department is also the implementation agency for Smart Grid, Smart City and Solar Cities. 35

The Prime Ministers Task Group on Energy Efficiency (the Task Group). The Task Group will deliver recommendations to the Prime Minister through the Minister for Climate Change, Water and Energy Efficiency and the Minister for Resources and Energy. In preparing its recommendations, the Task Group will focus on the most economically, environmentally effective and socially inclusive energy efficiency mechanisms that can deliver a step-change improvement in energy efficiency by 2020 and place Australia at the forefront of OECD energy efficiency improvement. To inform and advise the Task Group, the Government has established an Advisory Group with experts from industry and non government organisations. 36

State government agencies also have a policy and program focus on energy efficiency.

(For more details see Appendices A to D)

National policies specifically related to energy efficiency include:

National Framework for Energy Efficiency (NFEE)

http://www.ret.gov.au/energy/efficiency/nfee/Pages/default.aspx In December 2004, the Ministerial Council on Energy endorsed the implementation of a National Framework for Energy Efficiency (NFEE) as a mechanism for coordinated national action on future direction of energy efficiency policy and programs in Australia. The NFEE addresses intermediaries who can influence energy efficiency choices, such as energy retailers, builders,

35

http://www.climatechange.gov.au

36

http://www.climatechange.gov.au/government/submissions/pm-task-group.aspx

http://www.ret.gov.au/energy/efficiency/nfee/Pages/default.aspxhttp://www.mce.gov.au/http://www.nfee.gov.au/home.jsp?xcid=48http://www.nfee.gov.au/home.jsp?xcid=48


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financiers and appliance suppliers and the demand side represented by the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. It comprises a number of inter-linked policy aspects, including standards, technological innovation, demonstration, incentives, skills development and awareness raising. Stage one of NFEE finished after four years in June 2008 and will achieve estimated savings by 2015 of 7.8 Mt Co2-e, 42 PJ of energy and A$380 million per annum. Achievements included increased standards for appliances and equipment; redesign of the building code of Australia and energy ratings schemes, development of online resources and legislative changes to help big energy users to monitor and reduce their use and new training courses for the financial services, government, education sectors and consumers. A full list of achievements can be found in Appendix D. Stage two of the Framwork began in July 2008, with the introduction of new measures and the continutation of some successful stage one measures, including:

Energy Efficiency Opportunities Program

Energy Efficiency Exchange

Consumer Bill Benchmarking

Energy Efficiency in School Curricula

Mandatory disclosure of building energy performance

Energy Efficiency program, focuses on nationally consistent initiatives to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse emissions from household appliances and equipment, and commercial and industrial equipment.

These programs are detailed in the Australian Government Programs section of this report. New Stage two measures include:

Strengthening and expanding MEPS (Minimum Energy Performance Standards)

Phasing out incandescent lighting

Creating demand by setting compulsory Green Building requirements for all Government buildings and office leases, and encouraging the commercial sector to demand the same

Increasing the MEPS for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)

National phasing out of high energy use hot water heaters

National Partnership Agreement on Energy Efficiency (NSEE)

http://www.coag.gov.au/coag_meeting_outcomes/2009-07-02/index.cfm#energy At its 2 July 2009 meeting COAG agreed to a comprehensive 10-year strategy to accelerate energy efficiency improvements for households and businesses across all sectors of the economy by signing the National Partnership Agreement on Energy Efficiency. The implementation of a new National Strategy on Energy Efficiency will broaden and accelerate the uptake of energy efficiency in the Australian economy, incorporating and building on the measures delivered and being developed through the National Framework for Energy Efficiency (NFEE) over the last five years. The NSEE and the NFEE will work in tandem. COAG agreed that the Strategys scope would encompass all areas in the economy where substantial cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities exist - commercial buildings, residential

http://www.coag.gov.au/coag_meeting_outcomes/2009-07-02/index.cfm#energy


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buildings, appliances and equipment, industry and business, government, transport, skills, innovation, advice and education - and agreed in principle to developing a range of new measures in these areas. The strategy is likely to include:

assistance to households to reduce energy use by providing information and advice, financial assistance and demonstration programs;

assistance to business and industry to obtain the knowledge, skills and capacity to pursue cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities and therefore meet the challenges of a low carbon economy;

higher energy efficiency standards to deliver substantial growth in the number of highly energy efficient homes and buildings, and provide a clear road map to assist Australias residential and commercial building sector to adapt;

nationally-consistent energy efficiency standards for appliances and equipment and a process to enable industry to adjust to increasingly stringent standards over time;

introducing in 2010 new standards for the energy performance of air conditioners and increasing the standard by a further 10 per cent from 1 October 2011;

addressing potential regulatory impediments to the take up of innovative demand side initiatives and smart grid technologies;

governments working in partnership to improve the energy efficiency of their own buildings and operations; and

a detailed assessment of possible vehicle efficiency measures, such as CO2emission standards, which international studies have indicated have the capacity to reduce fuel consumption by 30 per cent over the medium term, and significantly contribute to emissions reductions.

Green Building - Construction and Materials

The Australian Government has conducted studies into the greenhouse gas emissions of residential and commercial buildings and has implemented changes to make them more environmentally sensitive while remaining economically efficient, initiatives include:

The Australian Building Codes Board have been asked to increase the energy efficiency provisions in the 2010 edition of the Building Code of Australia to require a 6 star energy rating, or equivalent, for new residential buildings; and a significant increase in the energy efficiency requirements for all new commercial buildings;

The Green Building Fund ($90m over 4 years) aims to reduce the impact of Australia's built environment on green house gas emissions, by reducing the energy consumed in the operation of existing commercial office buildings by encouraging sustainable retrofitting of Commercial Buildings.

Mandatory Australian Standards

Australia has a range of mandatory safety and labelling standards related to energy efficiency in domestic and commercial buildings, whitegoods and automotive. Some relevant websites are listed below:

Energy Ratings Guidelines

http://www.energyrating.gov.au/meps1.html

Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) are made mandatory in Australia and specify the general requirements for MEPS for appliances, including offences and penalties if a party does not comply with the requirements. Technical requirements for MEPS are set out in the relevant

http://www.energyrating.gov.au/meps1.html


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appliance standard, which is referenced in state regulations. It is mandatory for the following products manufactured in or imported into Australia to meet the MEPS levels specified in the relevant Australian Standards:

refrigerators and freezers (from 1 October 1999, revision 1 January 2005)

mains pressure electric storage water heaters (from 1 October 1999)

small mains pressure electric storage water heaters (


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Energy Efficiency Companies in Australia In attempting to map entities operating in the Australian energy efficiency sector, analysis can be made according to the basic product or service description ie lighting, insulation, building engineering etc, by the area of economic or social activity - , ie domestic, commercial, industrial, power transmission, etc or by a value chain which operates in a similar pattern across a number of sectors. The value chain for energy efficiency may be described as commencing with programs and campaigns to encourage consumers or business to investigate energy efficiency opportunities. Positive respondees energy use is monitored and audited. The data obtained is used to plan and design energy efficiency measures. There may be a need to obtain finance to fund implementation. Building trade, engineering or other skills are then deployed to install energy efficient products or technologies. Energy management services or technologies can be used on an on-going basis to check that efficient performance is maintained. Along this value chain Australia has a wide range of energy efficient products, services and technologies, including:

Consumer and business campaigns and information programs.

Energy Auditing and Monitoring Services and Software

services and software to measure energy performance and identify potential efficiencies

expertise in lifecycle analysis and Energy Mass Balance assessments for industrial processes

expertise in the design and application of building energy efficiency rating tools and minimum energy performance ratings


Consultancy to identify, cost and plan implementation of efficiency measures

Design of energy saving appliances, information systems and processes to extend life and efficiency of technology

Design for efficient buildings operation and retrofit


Building trade skills for green building construction and retrofit

Project management and engineering for industrial applications


Efficient HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems, lighting, insulation and coatings

Solar heating for water, cooling and other applications

Energy storage

Mining, mineral and food processing technologies and systems

Energy Management Services

Automated control and performance management of buildings, industrial processes and electricity transmission

Smart meter reading and bill processing


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The following listing groups companies under activity headings for convenience, but companies often perform a number of the value chain steps and could be classified in different ways. The sample of companies reflects those identified in research for this report and inclusion or omission should in no way be seen as an evaluation of a companys capability.

SELECTED AUSTRALIAN ENERGY EFFICIENCY COMPANIES

Energy Management Consultants

Australia has a number of specialised energy management consultants, providing energy assessments and advice on site rectification, either through upfront fees and success fee contracts.

Commercial Energy Services

http://www.energyservices.com.au Commercial Energy Services offer tailored solutions to enhance the performance of power distribution equipment and commercial buildings. Offering one off and ongoing auditing, monitoring and site rectifications, Commercial Energy Services goal is to assist companies adopt innovative processes and technologies to provide overall greater awareness of energy use in energy systems and commercial property maintenance.

Energetics

www.energetics.com.au

Energetics is a leading management consultancy specialising in solving complex business problems and identifying business opportunities in response to climate change. Energetics assists clients to transition to a carbon-constrained environment by managing risks, achieving cost reductions and identifying new opportunities. Energetics has developed an integrated range of services within several Practice Areas, including life cycle assessments, helping companies review their greenhouse gas footprint and energy use, assessment of energy efficiency of buildings and preparation for the emissions trading scheme. They have worked with clients to conduct assessments under requirements of programs such as EEO, NABERS, Greenstar and National Greenhouse Emissions Reporting Scheme.

Energetics also provides managed services such as data management, and associated bill processing services. They directly manage data for more than 20 major Australian organizations across 16,500 sites and 20,000 accounts.

Ecosave

http://www.ecosave.com.au Ecosave specialise in energy and water efficiency for organisations who own or lease multiple sites and have achieved substantial savings for over 250 customers in industrial, commercial and government sectors. Ecosave was founded in 2002 and guarantees savings in all the energy and water conservation projects it carries out in metropolitan and rural areas of every state in Australia and New Zealand.

http://www.energyservices.com.au/http://www.energetics.com.au/http://www.ecosave.com.au/


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ECOS

http://www.ecoscorporation.com/index.htm Established in Australia in 1995, to assist companies understand and respond to major environmental and social issues and trends - reducing risk, unlocking new opportunities to create value for shareholders and society and taking leadership positions in their sectors on sustainability. ECOS guides business action on climate change - including its likely impacts, and the many risks and opportunities it poses for the economy, individual sectors and companies. Past and present clients underscore the length and breadth of our experience. These include: Insurance Australia Group (IAG) (currently the leading insurance company on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index), TRUenergy, DuPont, Colonial First State, the NSW Business Chamber, Zurich Financial Services, Diageo, ANZ, Anglo Coal, BHP, S.C. Johnson, Ford Motor Company, BP, HiFert, US Business Roundtable, Lend Lease, Comalco, Macquarie Bank and Cotton Australia.

Energy Strategies

http://www.enerstrat.com.au/index.php

Energy Strategies provides analysis and advice on the sustainability of energy systems at all levels from the global down to individual projects and buildings since establishment in 1982. The company provide advice on the development and implementation of government and corporate policies, and post-implementation evaluation of policies and programs.

Energy Strategies undertakes economic, environmental and technical appraisal of energy technologies and systems, using financial analysis, cost-benefit analysis, life-cycle analysis and other relevant techniques, and provides strategic advice based on this analysis. They have contributed to the design and evaluation of Government programs in the energy and environment field. Recent clients and projects include the Australian Greenhouse office (2007 evaluation of energy efficiency programs); Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (2005 - Provision of advice on how to define the 0.5 PJ threshold for the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Assessments program) and Mackay Sugar (2006 - Life Cycle Analysis of proposed ethanol production plant).

Energy Corporate

http://www.energycorporate.com.au Energy Corporate established in 1990 is a management consultancy assisting companies to meet compliance requirements, and reduce operating cost, waste, emissions, and potential carbon liabilities. They offer a range of services to government, business, and industry including energy assessment auditing and reporting, independent verification, data collection, carbon management and risk reduction and training.

Ensight Integrated Energy Services

www.ies.net.au Ensight offers sustainable energy products and design solutions. Their energy enhancement process covers everything needed to transform the energy side of a business, from auditing, energy strategy and engineering design to education and performance monitoring. Their Energy4-package comes in two forms:

A 40 per cent energy reduction and a 50 per cent greenhouse gas reduction with a three-year pay back.

http://www.ecoscorporation.com/index.htmhttp://www.enerstrat.com.au/index.phphttp://www.energycorporate.com.au/http://www.ies.net.au/


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A 30 per cent energy reduction and a 40 per cent greenhouse gas reduction with a two-year payback.

Exergy

http://www.xgl.com.au/index_ie.html Based in Canberra, Exergy provide Energy Efficiency consulting services throughout Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Exergy provides three main services:

Energy efficiency analysis - through energy audits, building assessments, computer simulation of new buildings and fleet audits.

Lighting solutions for new and existing buildings

Research, technology and program development - Key programs that Exergy has created include The Australian Building Greenhouse Rating Scheme was created for the Sustainable Energy Development Authority of NSW; Fleet First Energy efficiency best practice in fleet management for the Department of Industry Science and Resources

Green Alliance

http://www.greenalliance.com.au/index.html Green Alliance provides environmental and energy assessment services for consumers. The Alliance Network International (ANI) provides environmental assessment for commercial, industrial or heritage facilities. For consumers, the Green alliance will review plans for new buildings to determine energy efficiency of site and structure and will also designs, specifies and installs an integrated set of products and systems that optimise energy efficiency whilst creating a comfortable and healthy home. The primary focus is on high energy-consuming end uses e.g. space heating and cooling, and water heating.

KPMG

http://www.kpmg.com.au/default.aspx?tabid=40 KPMG is a global network of professional services firms, providing audit, tax and advisory services through over 135,000 people worldwide, in more than 140 countries. In Australia, KPMG operate nationally across 13 offices with over 4,500 people. KPMG's Energy & Natural Resources practice clients from forestry, mining, oil and gas, power and utilities, renewables, water and energy and mining services. As part of the service to help clients improve their operational performance, position themselves for future growth, and comply with tax and other regulatory requirements, KPMG has a specific Energy Efficiency practice that can advise on energy efficiency across all parts of the industry.

Net Balance Management Group

http://www.netbalance.com/ Established in 2005, Net Balance is a provider of sustainability advice, assurance, and research in the following specialisations:

Independent Assurance of sustainability reports using the AA1000AS (2008).

Sustainability Strategy, Management & Implementation.

Climate Change, Greenhouse Solutions and Life Cycle Assessment.

Environmental Management auditing, including energy, waste and water.

Social Impact Assessment and Management, including community investment.

http://www.xgl.com.au/index_ie.htmlhttp://www.greenalliance.com.au/index.htmlhttp://www.kpmg.com.au/default.aspx?tabid=40http://www.netbalance.com/


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Some of the clients that they have assisted to meet sustainability goals include Fosters Group, Bunnings, EPA Victoria, Insurance Australia Group, and Commonwealth Bank (for more information see http://www.netbalance.com/success_stories.html).

Village Green

http://www.villagegreen.com.au/html/s01_home/home.asp

Village Green provides environmental advisory, reporting and education services to support a better business and improved bottom line performance. Established in 2002, Village Green is Australian Owned with offices in Australia, U.S., Ireland, Malaysia, UAE, with plans to expand into Canada, China and Germany.

Building Services Engineering Consultants

Australia has significant expertise in the design and installation of building services, including HVAC, lighting, computer, automation, fire safety and energy assessments and in the design of ecologically sustainable building environments, with special expertise in bringing collaborative teams from various disciples together to deliver the best solution. Australia also has significant expertise in the design of energy efficiency rating tools, and substantial expertise in assessment across all types of buildings.

AG Coombs (EPC)

www.agcoombs.com.au A.G. Coombs was established in Melbourne in 1945 and has expanded and developed into a Group of companies which provide a comprehensive, whole of life, range of technical skills and services for efficient and safe buildings. A specialist provider of air conditioning, mechanical services, and multi services installations, they offer integrated engineering systems design, construction and installation, commissioning and energy efficiency tuning, project management, and technical advisory services. With strong project management skills with particular expertise in large complex and technically advanced projects, extended warranties and comprehensive long term maintenance coverage for work is available.

BCA Consultants Pty Ltd

www.bcaconsultants.com.au The BCA Group comprises BCA Consultants and their Affiliates, with offices throughout Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. This network provides experienced, qualified engineers in all Building Services Disciplines able to undertake major projects in any location throughout the Australasian region. Providing the full range of Building Services disciplines, including Mechanical, Air Conditioning, Electrical, Vertical Transportation, Fire and Life Safety, Hospital, Energy Management, Industrial, Security, Communications and Building Code Consulting, they are also able to provide experienced specialist input in the critical areas of energy auditing and management, E.S.D., commissioning, contract administration, quality control, and ongoing service and maintenance. Hydraulic Services can also be provided if a total one-stop package is preferred.

Cundall

http://www.cundall.com.au/index.html

Cundall's services span a variety of industry sectors and include the core disciplines of ecologically sustainable design (ESD), and mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, fire and vertical transportation engineering. Their services are integrated and broadly fall into the categories of planning, procurement, operation, rating tools and building simulation.

http://www.netbalance.com/success_stories.htmlhttp://www.villagegreen.com.au/html/s01_home/home.asphttp://www.agcoombs.com.au/http://www.bcaconsultants.com.au/http://www.cundall.com.au/index.html


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In addition to being accredited assessors for various rating tools Cundall also develop project specific benchmarks and tools where formal systems do not exist, to enable projects to be informally benchmarked against best practice. For example, Cundall developed a rating tool for hangers and stores for use in the HNA project at MAAP Edinburgh. Cundall has been ranked as a top ten building services engineering consultancy, as voted by the world's top architects, surveyed by Building Design World Architecture magazine. The UK based publication surveys more than 1000 of the worlds top architect firms annually for its World Architecture Top 100 edition, published in January. Cundall was voted in at joint seventh position in the building service engineers category.

DMA Professional Engineers

www.dmaengineers.com.au

DMA Professional Engineers is a Consulting Engineering Practice specializing in building services. The practice specializes in the following areas of construction: Design; Documentation; Contract Administration; Due Diligence Reporting; Project Management; Certification; Fire Safety; Energy Efficiency and ESD Solutions.

EP&T Global

www.eptglobal.com An Australian Energy Efficiency Company, operating since 1993, that today employs 40 engineers. They offer a full set of solu

australian energy efficiency market industry capability report

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