March 2025 Special - Community Energy Upgrades Fund Round 1
Round 1 = $50 million co-funding grants awarded
Congratulations to the councils who were successful in Round 1 of the Federal Community Energy Upgrades Fund that saw $50 million of co-funding grants shared amongst 58 councils across Australia to fund energy upgrade and electrification projects which will deliver significant reductions in energy costs and emissions and bolster the decarbonisation momentum in the local government sector.
We know many councils lost out even though they had submitted very solid applications. We hope the ones still requiring to electrify their aquatic center’s will apply for Round 2 now open. The Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP) still has their webinars helping to prepare for the applications in Round 1 up on their website:
Unlock Additional Savings Through VEU PBA M&V VEECs
Whether you secured funding in Round 1, are preparing for Round 2, or undertaking energy upgrades independently, there’s another way to maximize your return on your investment.
Through the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program, councils can generate additional financial returns by creating VEECs (Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates) using the Project-Based Assessment (PBA) method. These certificates provide a valuable revenue stream for councils implementing energy-saving projects, helping offset costs and reinvest in further sustainability initiatives.
Our Measurement & Verification (M&V) services ensure your energy savings are accurately quantified and reported to ensure fastest possible approval by the ESC, enabling you to unlock additional benefits from your upgrades.
We are anticipating approval imminently for the first Swim School Heat Pump upgrade under the Project-Based Assessment (PBA) scheme. This project faced additional challenges due to the presence of an analogue gas meter, which limited data availability to two-monthly gas bills supplemented by manual readings taken by the swim school. These manual readings, initiated before the upgrade, were essential in ensuring the success of the Measurement & Verification (M&V) process.
If your aquatic center is equipped with an online gas meter, you are already at a significant advantage in simplifying M&V calculations and expediting the approval of your PBA project.
To date, fewer than a handful of heat pump electrification projects have been approved under the PBA method by the Essential Services Commission (ESC). Over the past nine months, Metimur Energy, in collaboration with Negawatt Projects, has been actively engaging with both the ESC and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) to advocate for streamlining regulations and addressing barriers specific to fuel-switching projects.
We anticipate that the ESC and DEECA will soon announce significant improvements to both the PBA regulatory framework and approval process, making it more efficient and accessible for councils and businesses undertaking electrification projects.
Let’s Work Together
We’d love to discuss how we can support your council in making the most of your energy upgrades. If you’d like to explore this opportunity, feel free to reach out. Just remember that to participate in PBA we must submit and get the Scoping Plan approved before any upgrades starts onsite.
A reminder that we have our filterable table of all the rebate activities we can assist with across the country, from Solar VEECs and Solar VIC to NSW PRC, ESCs and federal STCs and we try to keep it up date as new activities are announced while others expire:
Please let us know if you notice any rebates missing from the table.
Stay Connected! For more information and updates, visit our website or contact us at info@metimur.com.
View our past newsletters here: https://metimurenergy.com.au/news/
Thank you for being a part of the Metimur community. Taking the pain out of certificate creation and maximising returns!
Best Regards,
The Metimur Team