New website showcases energy efficiency schemes

A national website providing an entry point for the latest information on all market-based energy efficiency schemes operating in Australia was launched late October by the Energy Efficiency Certificate Creators Association (EECCA), which represents businesses actively involved in market-based energy efficiency schemes across Australia.

“The site [www.eecca.org.au] is a key tool to assist the EECCA in driving the extension and expansion of existing market-based schemes, enabling easy access to the wealth of trailblazing expertise that now exists for policymakers and scheme participants,” said the president of EECCA, Bruce Easton.

“On the website, we have used a traffic light indicator, with red, orange and green buttons, to show which jurisdictions in Australia have introduced market-based energy efficiency schemes. Green lights are on for Victoria (Victorian Energy Efficiency Target VEET), New South Wales (Energy Savings Scheme ESS), ACT (Energy Efficiency Implementation Scheme EEIS) and South Australia (Retailer Energy Efficiency Scheme REES).

The National button is orange as there is no national scheme and the Emissions Reduction Fund provides little incentive currently for energy efficiency projects. That leaves Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory with red buttons. The International button is green as there are more than 50 schemes now operating around the world.

“In some jurisdictions, we have scheme certainty up to 2020 and even 2025. But even they need extending and expanding if Australia is to effectively embrace energy efficiency, which is the lowest cost way of reducing energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. These schemes have established themselves as a proven way to decarbonise our energy sector and are critical for Australia to meet its Paris Climate Change Agreement commitments.

“All governments in Australia are now committed through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council to prepare advice on how to better integrate energy and emissions policy including advice on existing emission reduction policies of which the market-based energy efficiency schemes form part. The schemes are recognised as being significant contributing mechanisms to the Commonwealth’s National Energy Productivity Plan (NEPP) launched in December 2015. They are critical drivers of energy market transformation having mobilised unprecedented uptake of new energy efficiency technologies as the schemes provide an attractive business case for emerging technologies to be embraced and delivered to market.

“The EECCA website also profiles our members, who represent the majority of the certificate creation market in Australia as well as leading product suppliers. It is often new businesses being established that are quickly developing expertise in world-leading energy efficiency technologies,” Easton said.