Councils urged to consider 'elephant in the room' ahead of $100m energy upgrade fund

The Albanese government has announced a new $100 million initiative that will see it partnering with local government to deliver energy upgrades and bill savings for community facilities like local pools, sporting clubs and community centres.

The Community Energy Upgrades Fund will co-fund upgrades with local councils and 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, the government said.

Local councils own and operate many of the public sporting, community and cultural facilities Australians use every year, with about 8 million Australians using community sport infrastructure annually.

The new funding could include upgrades like replacing energy-intensive heating in council pools with heat pumps and installing energy-efficient lighting and battery storage at sporting fields, libraries and community centres.

The government’s $100 million funding boost adds to the $1.6 billion Energy Savings Package delivering upgrades for homes and businesses 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.

“Local governments are on the frontline of combating climate change, which is why we’re partnering on major projects to save energy and decarbonise public facilities,” said Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Jenny McAllister.

“More than 1000 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.

“We want to make every watt count. This fund will help local councils install efficient systems, reduce energy bills and lower emissions,” McAllister said.

However, Sam Ringwaldt, CEO of Melbourne-based climate tech startup Conry Tech, has expressed the view that, with its emphasis on heat pumps, lighting and the heating of council pools, the fund is ignoring the ‘elephant in the room’. Ringwaldt said that with heating/cooling units using 25% of all electricity generated in Australia and air-conditioning alone accounting for 60% of most commercial buildings’ electricity bills, replacing old air-con units should be the top priority for local councils using the fund.

“The subject of energy efficiency is not as glamorous as big renewable energy projects, but taking energy off the grid is a pivotal part of Australia’s net zero objectives. 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,” Ringwaldt said.

“In order to reach net zero, local councils must address the elephant in the room. Most community facilities will have massive, extremely inefficient heating and cooling units running all day. The HVAC industry consumes a quarter of all electricity produced in Australia and air-conditioning is one of the biggest emitters of CO₂ in the entire country. Removing outdated, inefficient and high-polluting AC 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.

“Councils are now in a unique position to lead the way in their local communities, demonstrate the benefits of upgrading buildings and improving efficiency to all the building owners in their local area. They should be encouraged to showcase new technologies, with a focus on utilising Australian suppliers, to build up and support the Australian manufacturing ecosystem, building local jobs and showcasing Australian technologies,” Ringwaldt concluded.

Image credit: iStock.com/Lincoln Beddoe