Extension of Energy Efficiency Opportunities program

The Australian Government’s Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program, which encourages large energy-using businesses to increase their efficiency, is being broadened to incorporate new developments and major expansions, saving business millions of dollars in energy costs across the lifetime of new projects.

The program was launched in 2006 and extended in 2011 as part of the Clean Energy Future package. It is mandatory for organisations that use over 0.5 petajoules (PJ) of energy annually and may also be undertaken voluntarily by medium energy users.

Now, the program has been extended into the design of new projects across a range of sectors including mining, manufacturing, generation, oil and gas, and some infrastructure projects, following a positive Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) outcome. It will apply from July this year.

The extension was welcomed by Resources and Energy Minister Gary Gray, who said the program “has helped corporations to increase profitability, productivity and competitiveness by supporting them to better understand their energy use and to identify and implement savings measures.”

“Trial results show clear net benefits in conducting energy efficiency assessments at the design stage, with potential energy savings of 11 to 50%.”

He outlined the benefits to mining companies, noting, “For a new iron ore mine that uses around 2.5 PJ of energy a year, integrating energy efficiency throughout the design can deliver potential savings of up to $7 million a year, and up to $50 million over 10 years based on net present value.”

A recent independent review of the EEO program found it to be highly effective in enabling millions of dollars in energy savings across participating businesses. Gray confirmed that companies already participating “have reported energy savings of 88.8 PJ - that represents around 1.5% of Australia’s energy use or over $800 million a year.”

But the government has acknowledged that the program would not be beneficial to all sectors; an RIS prevented the program’s extension to electricity and gas transmission and distribution businesses after finding that the costs would exceed the benefits.

The framework will be finalised in the coming weeks, with a particular focus on reducing compliance burden and recognising existing design processes, in line with recommendations from the recent review. A series of workshops will be held around the country in July and August to outline the changes in detail.