Local councils can finally address energy efficiency with the launch of the federal government’s $100 million Community Energy Upgrades Fund.
The fund, which was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week, will unlock energy saving upgrades for community facilities around the country.
This includes replacing energy-intensive heating in council pools with heat pumps and energy efficient lighting and battery storage at sporting fields, libraries and community centres.
Sam Ringwaldt, the CEO of Melbourne-based climate tech startup, Conry Tech, said councils can finally address the high cost of heating and cooling which he described as the “elephant in the room”.
“Replacing old air conditioning units should be the top priority for local councils using the fund,” he said.
Ringwaldt said heating and cooling accounts for 25 per cent of all electricity generated in Australia and air-conditioning alone accounts for 60 per cent of most energy bills in commercial buildings.
“The subject of energy efficiency is not as glamourous as big renewable energy projects, but taking energy off the grid is a pivotal part of Australia’s net zero objectives,” he said.
“This fund can be a huge step towards more energy efficient public buildings across Australia, especially as most local governments have established aggressive net zero goals.
“Most community facilities will have massive, extremely inefficient heating and cooling units running all day. Removing outdated, inefficient, and high-polluting air conditioning units should be local councils’ number one energy efficiency priority.
“In addition to more modern HVAC, community facilities will also need to electrify more of their systems, reduce their reliance on gas for heating, embrace heat pumps, and use energy intelligently between cloistered buildings. For instance, taking heat out of offices and community centres and utilising it to heat pools.”
The new fund has the potential to unlock over $200 million in high-impact energy upgrades to save community facilities on bills over the medium and long term.
Albanese said the $100 million fund is in addition to the $1.6 billion Energy Savings Package included in the 2023-24 Budget.
The guidelines for the fund will be designed in close consultation with key stakeholders, including the Australian Local Government Association.
Assistant Minister for Climate Change & Energy, Jenny McAllister, said local governments are on the front line of combating climate change which is why the government will partner on major projects to decarbonise public facilities.
“More than 1,000 council pools in Australia are owned or operated by local government. They're big energy users and efficiencies can make a real difference on the path to net zero,” she said.
“We want to make every watt count. This fund will help local councils install efficient systems, reduce energy bills and lower emissions.”