ZEN — Free, Unbiased Renewable Vitality Recommendation Service

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Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN) runs a extremely profitable electrical car and electrify every little thing expo every year — we have now attended a number of occasions, exhibited our getting older Tesla, and written up the expertise — see right here for our writeup of final 12 months’s occasion. So, after I heard about ZEN’s newest challenge, I needed to share the excellent news with CleanTechnica readers.

Noosa Council (primarily based on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia) is funding a brand new impartial service by ZEN to assist native companies rein in rising vitality prices and take advantage of new know-how. Josh Stevens has been appointed ZEN’s new Noosa Enterprise Vitality Advisor to supply sensible, no-cost recommendation to small and medium-sized companies throughout the Shire. Josh and I had an amazing chat on the cellphone a couple of days in the past.

“We all know companies are time poor, so this service is to assist them scale back their vitality payments and enhance their backside line,” stated Josh. The service is free and just for companies working within the Noosa Shire, and is totally vendor-neutral — no commissions, no product gross sales. Josh doesn’t characterize an vitality retailer or tools provider.”

I’m spreading the phrase as a result of I feel it’s a nice concept, that I hope will probably be picked up by native governments across the globe. Let me know what you suppose within the feedback part under.

“My transient is to assist companies perceive methods to use much less vitality, use it smarter, and spend money on tech like photo voltaic, batteries and electrical car (EV) infrastructure, if and when the numbers stack up,” Josh continued.

“Help contains fast effectivity evaluations; assessing the enterprise case for photo voltaic, batteries, EV chargers, amongst others; assessing indicative return on funding to navigate rebates and market traits; and a number of the strategic alternatives out there. I’ll be asking about typical buying and selling hours, main home equipment, tariff, and consumption knowledge,” Josh stated. “I’m in search of high-reward, low-effort vitality financial savings first.”

Josh says preparation for the enterprise is minimal. “We begin with a current energy invoice and a way of their day by day operations after which go from there,” he stated. “A typical preliminary go to takes lower than an hour and might be on-site or digital.”

What’s in it for the enterprise? Josh explains: readability, financial savings, and finally bottom-line progress. “Generally, these choices also can result in unbelievable oblique advantages like enterprise resilience (for instance, within the case of a blackout), buyer attraction, branding and entry to discounted ‘inexperienced’ finance.”

Native examples display the potential. By means of earlier ZEN tasks, a number of companies have already skilled vital advantages from vitality enhancements for instance: 

Instance 1: Noosa Marina

Noosa Marina is a crucial vacationer attraction situated on the Noosa River, consisting of a 40 berth marina with a collection of business and personal boats moored all 12 months spherical. “Noosa Marina is a multi-tenanted area, with over 20 business tenants who function shops and eating places. Tourism Noosa has a vacationer data workplace situated on website and Noosa Ferry Cruise Firm operates a day by day ferry service together with night sundown cruises and eco cruises.”

They put in a 100-kW rooftop system with vitality administration, lowering site-wide electrical energy prices and passing financial savings by to tenants. They’re now taking a look at additional choices round expanded photo voltaic, battery storage, and EV chargers to save cash and higher serve tenants and clients. They’re already lowering their greenhouse fuel emissions by 121 tons per 12 months.

Basic Supervisor Warren Smith recommends that business landlords with useable roof area ought to contemplate the monetary returns that may be gained from putting in a photo voltaic system, first to energy communal areas, then to go on financial savings to tenants, attracting long term leases.

Watch the video to listen to Warren clarify the financial savings for tenant companies (a whopping 20%) and admire the huge photo voltaic array on the roof.

Instance 2: Noosa Solar Motel

Noosa Solar Motel sits alongside the Noosa River at Noosaville. For over 25 years, Noosa Solar Motel has been offering vacationer lodging and options 15 flats.

The motel halved quarterly electrical energy prices, from roughly $4,000 to $2,000, after putting in a 15 kW photo voltaic system that paid itself off in simply over two years. They’ve put in additional demand administration methods in addition to EV charging to assist their enterprise develop.

Supervisor Darren Keenan is proud of the financial savings, which have already paid for the photo voltaic system. He explains: “With none direct management over how company select to make use of air-conditioning and electrical energy inside the lodging flats, it made full sense for the enterprise house owners to put in a photo voltaic system to assist scale back electrical energy prices for the lodging.” Darren anticipated it to take 5 years for a full return on funding, however is delighted to report that the system has paid for itself in two years and lowered his carbon emissions by 18.2 tonnes of CO2 per 12 months. Hear his story right here.

Instance 3: Noosa Reds

What about agriculture, you ask? Can small crops be grown sustainably and economically? “Peter Seghers is captivated with his vine ripened tomatoes grown domestically at his Doonan farm. Sustainability is the best way of the farm in its 7 day every week, 7am to 7pm operation.” He talks about his farm right here.

It was to be anticipated, then, that Peter would spend money on photo voltaic panels, photo voltaic sizzling water, and an electrical car used for deliveries from his Noosa Reds farm. With the photo voltaic operating the irrigation pumps in the course of the day, payback was fast. The financial savings had been then reinvested in an electrical automotive and photo voltaic sizzling water. They’re nonetheless depending on the grid for evening time energy to maintain the fridges and lights working. Batteries are the subsequent funding on the horizon.

“Our photo voltaic funding is giving us a great return. We invested in an electrical automotive and now we’re pondering batteries, so it’s very worthwhile to do the funding. I’d suggest everybody to do it, go for it,” Peter Seghers, Director at Noosa Reds, says.

“For each drawback there’s, nature gives a solution.” No chemical substances or prescription drugs are used on his farm and he maintains that it reveals within the style and high quality of the fruit.

“What’s extra necessary than taking care of the setting, as we have now to go away behind a spot that our grandchildren can get pleasure from,” he provides. Not solely is it good for the setting, photo voltaic has confirmed to be economical. He has seen a marked discount in his electrical energy prices.

Enterprise Vitality Advisor Josh will construct on such successes by making recommendation accessible to any native enterprise that wishes to discover its choices. “We all know there are financial savings on the market. The problem for many enterprise house owners is time and realizing the place to begin, who to belief, and which steps will truly ship worth.”

Josh has already begun assembly with native companies and associations to evaluate payments, talk about operations, and determine alternatives tailor-made to their circumstances. “That is about giving enterprise house owners the arrogance to make knowledgeable selections,” he stated. “It’s not about pushing merchandise. It’s about displaying what’s attainable and serving to flip it into actuality,” he stated.

“With vitality markets shifting shortly, we wish Noosa companies to remain forward of the curve.”

It is very important acknowledge that Josh’s work in Noosa is constructed on efficient vitality advisory fashions already having success. Stephen Rodan Magnetic Island Neighborhood Improvement Affiliation explains:

“Josh’s work in Noosa is a part of a broader wave of place-based vitality advisory fashions proving efficient throughout Queensland. For instance, Magnetic Island’s ‘Biz Help’ challenge — run by MICDA with Reef Belief assist — achieved notable success in serving to companies scale back vitality use, enhance effectivity, and set up photo voltaic, batteries and different applied sciences, realising over 340 tonnes of CO₂ financial savings yearly. These localised, trusted advisor fashions are displaying nice promise for replication statewide.”

My hope is that these fashions might be replicated not simply in Australia, however in lots of components of the world. If you’re conscious of a challenge like this, let me know within the feedback. Within the meantime, if you happen to do occur to have the pleasure of dwelling in Noosa, you may ebook a free advisory name from Josh through e-mail at [email protected].

We are able to all do our half to scale back reliance on fossil fuels and enhance our earnings on the identical time.