ZEN — Free, Impartial Renewable Power Recommendation Service

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Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN) runs a extremely profitable electrical car and electrify every part expo annually — we’ve 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, once I heard about ZEN’s newest undertaking, I needed to share the excellent news with CleanTechnica readers.

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

“We all know companies are time poor, so this service is to assist them scale back their power 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 symbolize an power retailer or tools provider.”

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

“My temporary is to assist companies perceive how one can use much less power, 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.

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

Josh says preparation for the enterprise is minimal. “We begin with a latest energy invoice and a way of their each 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 in the end bottom-line progress. “Normally, these choices may also result in improbable 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 earlier ZEN tasks, a number of companies have already skilled important advantages from power enhancements for instance:

Instance 1: Noosa Marina

Noosa Marina is a vital vacationer attraction positioned on the Noosa River, consisting of a 40 berth marina with a choice of industrial and personal boats moored all 12 months spherical. “Noosa Marina is a multi-tenanted area, with over 20 industrial tenants who function shops and eating places. Tourism Noosa has a vacationer info workplace positioned on web site and Noosa Ferry Cruise Firm operates a each day ferry service together with night sundown cruises and eco cruises.”

They put in a 100-kW rooftop system with power administration, lowering site-wide electrical energy prices and passing financial savings by way of 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 prospects. They’re already lowering their greenhouse gasoline emissions by 121 tons per 12 months.

Common Supervisor Warren Smith recommends that industrial landlords with useable roof area ought to take into account the monetary returns that may be gained from putting in a photo voltaic system, first to energy communal areas, then to move 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 pleased with the financial savings, which have already paid for the photo voltaic system. He explains: “With none direct management over how visitors select to make use of air-conditioning and electrical energy inside the lodging flats, it made full sense for the enterprise homeowners 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 diminished 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 keen about his vine ripened tomatoes grown domestically at his Doonan farm. Sustainability is the way in which of the farm in its 7 day per 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 working the irrigation pumps through the day, payback was fast. The financial savings had been then reinvested in an electrical automobile 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 an excellent return. We invested in an electrical automobile and now we’re pondering batteries, so it’s very worthwhile to do the funding. I might suggest everybody to do it, go for it,” Peter Seghers, Director at Noosa Reds, says.

“For each downside there may be, nature supplies a solution.” No chemical compounds or prescribed drugs are used on his farm and he maintains that it exhibits within the style and high quality of the fruit.

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

Enterprise Power 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 homeowners is time and understanding the place to begin, who to belief, and which steps will really ship worth.”

Josh has already begun assembly with native companies and associations to assessment payments, focus on operations, and establish alternatives tailor-made to their circumstances. “That is about giving enterprise homeowners the boldness to make knowledgeable choices,” he stated. “It’s not about pushing merchandise. It’s about exhibiting what’s potential and serving to flip it into actuality,” he stated.

“With power markets shifting rapidly, we would like Noosa companies to remain forward of the curve.”

You will need to acknowledge that Josh’s work in Noosa is constructed on efficient power advisory fashions already having success. Stephen Rodan Magnetic Island Group Improvement Affiliation explains:

“Josh’s work in Noosa is a part of a broader wave of place-based power advisory fashions proving efficient throughout Queensland. For instance, Magnetic Island’s ‘Biz Help’ undertaking — run by MICDA with Reef Belief help — achieved notable success in serving to companies scale back power use, enhance effectivity, and set up photo voltaic, batteries and different applied sciences, realising over 340 tonnes of CO? financial savings yearly. These localised, trusted advisor fashions are exhibiting 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 undertaking like this, let me know within the feedback. Within the meantime, when you do occur to have the pleasure of residing in Noosa, you may ebook a free advisory name from Josh by way of e-mail at josh.stevens@zeroemissionsnoosa.com.

We will all do our half to scale back reliance on fossil fuels and enhance our earnings on the similar time.