The Allan Labor Government is helping big manufacturing and industrial businesses find new ways to slash their energy bills.
Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D'Ambrosio today visited MainStream Aquaculture's barramundi hatchery site in Werribee, one of 35 projects in the Large Energy User Electrification Support Program that shared in $1.4 million of grants to support exploring options to electrify their facilities.
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 with a 550kW water sourced heat pump using readily available geothermal water at its Werribee site, reducing the site's annual gas usage by 70 per cent, savings them approximately $113,000 a year with a five year payback period.
Eligible businesses have received up to $60,000 in metropolitan areas and $66,000 in regional areas to fund in depth feasibility assessments to investigate options to electrify industrial processes.
Businesses can undertake feasibility studies for electrification, using up to four different technologies including heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), low and medium heat boilers, and industrial process equipment.
With assessment options 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 business to custom upgrades to energy efficiency, like installing solar panels and upgrading processes for heat and steam, heating, ventilation and 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.
As stated by Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D'Ambrosio
"We're helping industry and businesses realise their potential to save thousands of dollars on their operating costs by swapping to more efficient electric alternatives."
As stated by Member for Werribee Tim Pallas
"These studies are helping businesses improve their operations to become more energy efficient and cheaper to run, making them more competitive and ensure their business can continue to thrive into the future."
