Tips to Find the Best Energy Auditor for Your School in Melbourne

Tips to Find the Best Energy Auditor for Your School in Melbourne from Enhar Pty Ltd

Government Grants for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy have Stimulated a Fascinating Range of Projects in Australia

Grant funding in recent years includes federal schemes such Clean Technology Investment Program (CTIP) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).  CTIP has been very successful in stimulating industrial energy efficiency and solar photovoltaic projects throughout Australia. A list of funded projects is provided on the Ausindustry website.

Energy related grant programs are generally designed to

• Increase the efficiency and therefore competitiveness of businesses
• Increase the use of latest efficient technology and migrate away from outdated, more wasteful technology
• Create pioneering examples demonstrating successful use of new efficient technology
• Increase confidence among Australian market sectors in the use of new more efficient technology
• Create improved environmental outcomes

If a business has a project in mind which achieves these kinds of goals, it may be that a grant exists which can suit the project.

Finding the right grant to suit the business project involves being aware of all currently active government schemes.  Since grant programs come and go over time, keeping abreast of what is available can be challenging.

Expert companies which specialise in energy efficiency grants and renewable energy grants can be very useful for identifying which grant opportunities suit the business and the project.

Once a specific grant opportunity has been identified, the quality of the application is key to success.

The proposed project must meet the aims of the grant program in order to be awarded funding.  Some grant funding seeks to avoid certain types of projects which are deemed to be already competitive without grant funding. While grant guidelines normally spell out clearly the criteria, sometimes it can be helpful to understand the remit and aims of the grant-awarding body.  Political priorities normally precede a grant program, and sometimes a change of government or policy can change the course or move the goalposts.

State Governments also support energy efficiency and renewable energy through grants, rebates and certificate schemes in Australia.

In Victoria, Sustainability Victoria has provided a number of schemes that are related to energy efficiency grant in Victoria over many years. In 2013-2014, the ‘Smarter Resources Smarter Business’ SRSB scheme supported hundreds of small and medium businesses to improve efficiency.

Application forms are usually clear and often allow supporting attachments.

To succeed, projects must be well planned and have concrete price quotations in place for the specific work being proposed.

Proponents must be prepared to work with the grant approving body’s timeframes, including pausing their project while they await the grant decision.  If a project cannot be postponed then the organisation should consider not applying for a grant in order to have the freedom to proceed at its own preferred pace.

The process of applying should be done methodically. Again, expert assistance from specialist companies such as Enhar Pty Ltd www.enhar.com.au  can make the process smoother and increase the chances of success.

The Steps Involved in Developing a Wind Farm in Victoria

Wind farm development in Victoria requires careful planning and adherence to local regulations. Most of the wind farms take a considerable amount of time (5 years or more) from land negotiation to commissioning. The process of development starts with site identification, land negotiation, design, wind resource assessment, through wind farm planning approval in Victoria, financial close, then the construction phase and then its operation. The following write-up indicates the steps that are typically involved in developing a wind farm. Each step can be considered a hold point at which the decision to proceed to next step is made.

Step 1

Initial research (1st year)

The desktop study identifies the windy regions with potentially appropriate access, topography and environmental overlays, and feasible connection to the electricity grid.

Decision point: Find a landholder(s), commence negotiations.

Step 2

Getting in touch with the landholder, data gathering as well as constraint mapping (1st and 2nd year)

Short-term contracts are sought with the landlords to enable exclusive access to the properties for wind measurements, initial environmental studies, understanding the limitations and other such works. The agreements may include long-term lease options as well, which are to be activated when the project reaches the construction phase or step 7.

Decision point: Refine the design and continue with more in depth wind and environmental studies

Step 3

Refine the project area, complete environmental assessment (2nd and 3rd year)

The area where the wind farm is supposed to develop in Victoria is refined and a thorough landscape, environmental, noise and such other assessment studies are done. These inform the development of the draft management and building plans and, with the community input and landholder liaison, help identify the prospective locations for turbines, access tracks, electrical connection lines and other layout details of the project.

Decision point: Move on to the submission of the planning application and formal grid connection application

Step 4

The submission of development application development (3rd year)

A complete development application document is produced for consideration by the community and the suitable planning authorities in the statutory development assessment procedure. The assessment process gives everyone the chance to make formal submissions concerning the final application, prior to it being evaluated. This process of assessment can see the application approved with or without conditions or even refused.  In Victoria, planning regulations around wind farms may change over time depending on the State government attitude towards wind farms.

Decision point: The result of the application development process considered

Step 5

Wind turbine tenders and the final agreement for the grid connection (3rd and 4th year)

If the application is approved with conditions accepted, a contract is made with the electricity network for the future grid connection. Tenders are also sought for the turbines, balance of plant and construction.

Step 6

Financial Close: Making the investment decision (4th year)

Following the approvals as well as the tenders, the people planning to make the investment, then consider whether to make expenses for construction and operation of the wind farm. It generally involves investing 2- 2.5 million dollars per MW installed. The final decision of whether to proceed or wait depends upon several business and economic issues.

Decision point: To build or not to proceed.

Step 7

Wind Farm Construction (4th and 5th year)

If the decision is made is to move ahead with the construction, orders are to be placed for turbines and transformers at this stage. A construction company is also engaged in developing the wind farm in Victoria. Long-term agreements with the landholders are made and a Community Fund is created it is commenced.

Step 8

Generation (5th year)

The wind farm that has been developed in Victoria starts to generate electricity for the national grid.

How Can Your Business Be Benefitted Using Solar Energy?

Solar energy is a good source of renewable energy. This is widely used in domestic purposes around the world but is generally not utilized vastly in commercial sectors. In Victoria region of Australia this trend is getting changed. Many business houses are installing solar panel for getting better benefits and interrupted flow of energy. Apart from providing unstoppable energy there are some other positive points as well. Australian Govt. provides energy efficiency grant in Victoria to encourage usability of the renewable energy. These grants come as some incentives or financial benefits for installing solar panel. Here I have discussed some of the benefits of using solar energy for businesses.
  

1. Solar power reduces the dependency on electrical supplies from power houses. The best benefit of using solar energy is producing your own electricity. You need not have to depend on any other resources. If your business needs constant flow of energy for smooth operation you can trust on solar power grids. These grids save the extra amount of solar energy which is not used in normal times.
   
   
2. Solar energy is a cleaner source of energy. It does not emit green house gases. Thus you can proclaim your business as a green business. This feature will add extra goodwill to the brand name of your products. More people will be interested in buying products from your organization.
   
   
3. Modern solar panels are easy to maintain. Though the older ones still require a great deal of maintenance, the latest panels are easy to maintain. You just need to install it properly to get the utmost amount of energy.
   
   
4. You can get good amount of deductions from government ends if you use solar panel for your business. There is a solar credit scheme available in Australia introduced by Government. This scheme helps to save some money and make the world a better place to live in.
   
   
5. If you do not want to install your own solar panel then you can subscribe it from various solar power suppliers in Victoria. You need to pay a monthly rate which is still much less than your normal electricity bills. 

Above all are some good benefits of having solar power supply for your business. It will be a smart business decision to utilize the solar power for producing manufacturing products, lighting up the business areas and many more. 

Why Should You Choose Solar Power for Your Commercial Establishment?

There are a number of reasons why you must choose solar energy for your business. Given below are the reasons.

Feel secure that you are protected from the rising prices of energy

Once you have the solar system installed on the roof of your office building, you will see that it will keep on producing free electricity from sun, which means you can significantly reduce or eliminate the electricity bills to a great extent. This is going to give you a peace o mind that you are doing whatever is good for the environment and that you are able to keep the bills low while still enjoying the advantages of all devices which electricity powers.

Incentives from government

The government may pay you for the extra electricity that you produce and is not able to use. The government sometimes even provides thousands of dollars in buying a system for commercial use. If you stay in Victoria, you can make use of these government grants by taking the assistance of Enhar. This company generally helps with preparing application related to energy efficient grant in Victoria.

Substantial investment returns

There is not any financial investment better than solar. From the first day of installation you will be able to save on your electricity bills. This translates into a return on an initial investment of fifteen to thirty percent per year for several years to come and the solar energy is going to pay for itself in about three to six years, depending on the size of the system.

Increases your property’s value

Energy efficient office buildings are sold at a large premium in comparison to the commercial establishments that are less efficient. Imagine telling the buyer that they are going to receive cheques every two months rather than an electricity bill. With the rise of prices in electricity, the buyer is surely going to increase his or her focus on energy efficiency and solar while considering which commercial establishment to purchase.

Being environment friendly

Less energy from grid is drawn when electricity in your office is generated through the solar system. This means less amount of coal will get burnt at the power stations reducing use of biggest source of pollution. Installing a solar panel is the most efficient step that can be taken to reduce the carbon footprint. 

Common Mistakes That Home Owners Do While Buying Solar Panel

It is always special to have installed a solar panel on the roof of your house. By doing it you can reduce your electricity bill. You can even show how environment friendly you are. The decision of installing solar panel is a noble one but you should know the norms and the regulations from a solar energy grant in Victoria before making the final decision of installing it. If you take the decision of installing it, you must know the common mistakes that people make when they go solar.

Do not reduce consumption before going solar:

Installation of solar panel is a costly affair. After installing it you need to reduce the consumption of the energy to save the cost of installation. But most of us do not go in that way. You should also do home energy audits by a certified agency to identify your biggest energy losses and how to minimize them.  Good behavioral can save up to 30% of the energy. That will indirectly save your money.

Buying cheap quality items:

With the increased craze of solar energy there is no lack of supplier of solar panels. People tend to go for the options which are cheaper and come with a discounted price. These are cheap initially but on long run they suck hell lot of money from pocket. Sometimes they come with flaunty promises (works on cloudy weather). Take a full survey before buying them. Look for third party approval or certifications etc before paying for them.

Buying before setting the load:

While deciding the load of the unit people make a roughly calculation based on previous months’ consumption. This is not the right way to do it. Electricity consumption is not same throughout the year. If logically calculated you can see there is a constant growth in the consumption. Also the solar panels lose its efficiency on each year. You need to keep all these factors in mind before selecting the load of the panel.

The Advantages of Wind Energy

We usually hear a lot about problems as well as alleged problems of wind energy in Victoria and much less about its advantages. The most essential point in favor of wind energy is that the electricity that’s generated replaces the power, which would otherwise be produced by burning the fossil fuels in Victoria. Thus, bigger the production of wind energy in electricity supply more is the reduction in production of atmospheric greenhouse gases, which cause ocean acidification and climate change.
 

However, a community where a wind farm is developed is benefitted by:

• Business for the local contractors at the time of construction; transport, electrical, concreting etc
  
• Employment at the time of construction and to a much less extent operation
  
• A boost to the local businesses like motels, hotels and other kinds of accommodation providers, restaurants, cafes, gift shops, hardware shops etc; again especially at the time of construction and to a much less extent at the time of operation
  
• Annual land lease payments to the farmers for turbine sites

Australia especially Victoria has a big potential for wind farm development. However, if this potential is to be built, governments should act more pro-actively. Apart from artificially created low price of the fossil fuel produced energy, the biggest hindrance to wind power development is lack of high capacity electricity transmission lines wherever they are required; and the governments are showing very little enthusiasm for building them. This should be compared with TX where state government is developing transmission lines into the areas with high quality resources of wind in hope of development of the wind farm.

Tips to Save Energy in Your Office

Simple energy efficiency measures like using energy saving lamps, switching off office equipments and setting the room temperature rightly can cut out office energy bills at least by twenty percent. Here are a few energy efficiency tips to help you get started: 

• Ask your staffs to use lights only when needed. Make it clear which lights can be left on and which are to be left off when not required.
• Use daylight sensors and time switches. They can help you to avoid leaving the lights on all through the night.
• Install lights that are energy efficient.
• Install motion detectors for controlling the lighting in normally the unoccupied areas like copy rooms and restrooms.
• Ask your staffs to switch off the equipments when they are not being used. Even if they are in standby mode, the equipment consumed energy.
• Encourage the staffs to turn down thermostatic radiator valves.
• Try to avoid using electric heaters.
• Using window blinds is a good idea. Closing them early in the morning or at night may help in reducing heat loss.
• Install self-adhesive thermal strips all over the windows and doors for reducing draughts. In several office buildings, draught cause 10% heat loss.
• The external doors must have automatic closures.
• Turn off monitors, computers, copiers, printers and lights at the end of the working day.
• Invest in a solar power system. It will help save a lot of your money in your electricity bills and even help the environment. 

However, you may think now that you will need to spend a lot of money for reducing on your electricity bills. There is good news for all the businesses especially the ones in Victoria. Energy efficiency grant in Victoria is available for businesses, which means you can get the financial support of the government for making the office building more energy efficient.

The Wind Energy Services to Keep in Mind for Developing Wind Farms

The sector of wind energy is experiencing unexpected growth all over the world including Australia. Australia is a country where wind energy is highly ranked in Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index.  In fact, Large-scale Renewable Energy Target produces a financial motivation for growth and establishment of renewable energy power stations inspiring the main activity all over the board. With substantial wind resources, consistent environmental policy and extensive land areas, proper conditions exist in the country for the sector of wind energy to strengthen and expand.

For fulfilling its potential, the sector of wind power needs continued diligence in choosing and developing proper land areas with reliable resources, apt availability of equipment, wind turbine technology and controllable and safe power.

If you own a business in Victoria and its planning involves wind power generation for exporting energy at any distribution or for the transmission level in the country, you first need to realize the opportunity of your wind farm. While assessing this, you need to keep in your mind that there are a few services which would be of great value for your business. Mentioned below are those services:

• Finding a site and acquiring wind farm prospects
• Optimisation and design of wind farm
• Wind farm planning approval in Victoria 
• Visual evaluation of the wind turbine projects
• Data analysis and monitoring of wind 
• Assessment of noise of the wind energy projects 
• Energy yield reporting, calculation and assessment 
• Wind farms construction management 
• Intervention of the environmental issues with regards to wind energy 
• Market entry in the wind sector of Australia and forming partnerships within the country 
• Capability statement for wind farm development 
• Training of the staffs on wind power 
• Shadow flicker evaluation of the wind farm

Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas-A Valuable Energy Source for Sewage Treatment Plants

Anaerobic Digestion is a method where microbes break down the organic wastes when oxygen is not present. The procedure is mainly used for domestic and industrial purposes to produce fuels and manage wastes. It usually occurs in soils, oceanic basin sediments and lake and is used for treating sewage sludge and biodegradable waste. It can lessen emission of the landfill gas into atmosphere.

Anaerobic digestion of organic wastes is an important source of energy for food businesses, farms and sewage treatment plants. It is used widely as a renewable source of energy and produces biogas that consist carbon dioxide, methane and some other contaminant gases.

After all generation of biogas in recent years has received great attention in the country of Australia. It is being largely used for electricity generation and heating. In fact a number of projects that have been initiated in Australia want to learn about the issues which need to be considered for improving the reliability of the electrical system.  Many of these projects have called for exploring the possibility of generation in biogas in Victoria at the waste water treatment plant as one of their criteria towards producing a final feasibility report.

Biogas projects usually work well where a consistent demand of electricity exists at site where waste is collected or created like food manufacturing plants or livestock farms. Sewage treatment plants may even supplement their power supply and reduce greenhouse emissions via lagoon cover technology and digesters.