Funding is typically the greatest hurdle preventing the rollout of energy efficiency projects. In the past few years Enigin has secured over $13M in funding (both grant and financing) for our clients’ energy efficiency projects. But it’s an ever-changing landscape. What did we achieve in the past, and what’s out there now?
Regardless of how short the ROI of an energy efficiency project may be, the availability of capital to fund the project can be an insurmountable hurdle if the funds simply do not exist.
Success Stories
Enigin has enabled our clients’ energy efficiency projects by securing funding from programs and bodies including the:
- Green Building Fund
- Clean Energy Efficiency Program
- Clean Technology Investment Program
- Local Government Energy Efficiency Program
- Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC)
- Retooling for Climate Change Program
We’ve assisted local governments, commercial property owners and not-for-profit organisations make their projects a reality. The funding not only reduced the upfront capital requirements for our clients, but in the case of grants it also halved their return on investment. All of our clients’ projects have now been successfully delivered under Enigin’s project management and have reduced their operating expenditure, in addition to significantly reducing their carbon footprint.
What’s Out There Today?
While grants are subsiding, there is ample funding available for renewables and energy efficiency projects through the CEFC, commercial banks, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).
ARENA: Debt and equity funding for renewables is available to power industrial processes from ARENA. If you are developing or operating an industrial plant with large (typically gas) powered processes, now is the time to secure funding to switch to lower operating cost renewables.
CEFC: The CEFC finances projects to increase the flow of funds into renewable energy, energy efficiency and low emissions technologies. The CEFC is like the government’s green bank and operates like a traditional financier. They work collaboratively with co-financiers and project proponents to seek ways to secure financing solutions for the clean energy sector.
More recently, the government has announced CEFC and ARENA coming together to enable debt and equity financing through the $1B Clean Energy Innovation Fund, designed to support emerging technologies.
ERF: The objective of the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) is to help Australia to meet its emissions reduction target of five percent below 2000 levels by 2020. Through the ERF, the government will purchase lowest cost abatement (in the form of Australian carbon credit units) from a wide range of sources, providing an incentive to businesses and landowners to proactively reduce their emissions.
In the property sector, $250M is currently available through the CEFC for Energy Efficient Community Housing loans. If you are a property developer or operator of community housing, this can be a good option for funding clean energy projects this year.
Take advantage of grants and financing arrangements to fund your clean energy projects.
(Source: Freeimages.com/Pawel Kryj)
Of course, more than government schemes are available; there are also equipment loans from banks and alternative funding models such as PPAs, to name a few. It’s a vast landscape when it comes to financing clean energy projects.
With the low cost of capital, the funding options available, and the substantial benefits & reduced operating cost of energy efficiency and renewables, you too might claim your piece of the pie. Contact us to discuss how your business can take action.
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