The Victorian Government is helping big manufacturing and industrial businesses find new ways to slash their energy bills.
Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio visited MainStream Aquaculture’s barramundi hatchery site in Werribee. This project is one of 35 in the Large Energy User Electrification Support Program, awarded $1.4 million in grants to explore facility electrification options.
“We’re helping industry and businesses realise their potential to save thousands of dollars on operating costs by swapping to more efficient electric alternatives,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
The VEU Large Energy User Electrification Support Program helped MainStream Aquaculture conduct a feasibility study on replacing their natural gas boilers with electric heat pumps.
It showed that MainStream Aquaculture could replace two legacy 650kW gas boilers at its Werribee site with a 550kW water-sourced heat pump using readily available geothermal water. This would reduce the site’s annual gas usage by 70 per cent, saving it approximately $113,000 annually. The payback period is five years.
Eligible businesses have received up to $60,000 in metropolitan areas and $66,000 in regional areas to fund in-depth feasibility assessments investigating options to electrify industrial processes.
Businesses can undertake feasibility studies for electrification using up to four technologies: heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), low- and medium-heat boilers, and industrial process equipment.
Assessment options are available for various types of industrial equipment, such as ovens, furnaces, kettles, fryers, dryers, dehumidifiers, coffee roasters, dye machines, medical processing equipment, and dairy processing machinery.
Businesses can also take advantage of project-based upgrades under the Victorian Energy Upgrades. This allows businesses to customise energy efficiency upgrades, such as installing solar panels and upgrading processes for heat and steam, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration systems, fans, and motors.
Since its inception, the VEU program has helped more than 2.4 million households and 170,000 businesses upgrade their appliances, save on bills.
For more information on the VEU program, visit energy.vic.gov.au/victorian-energy-upgrades.
