Late last year, the City of Boroondara Mayor, Heinz Kreutz, officially opened the Asburton cogeneration plant that now generates electricity and heat for the Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre (APARC).
Following the successful installation of the pilot plant, which is saving ratepayers $70,000 per year in electricity bills, four Melbourne councils have joined forces to lead the way in reducing carbon emissions and making it easier for other councils to do the same.
The Cities of Boroondara, Darebin, Monash and Yarra have received a $120,000 grant under the Victorian Government’s Local Sustainability Accord to develop feasibility studies and business cases for cogeneration or trigeneration plants at the Boroondara Sports Complex and Kew Recreation Centre in the City of Boroondara, the Reservoir Leisure Centre in the City of Darebin, the Richmond Recreation Centre and Town Hall precinct in the City of Yarra, and the Monash Aquatic and Recreation Centre in the City of Monash.
Already used in Australia and overseas, cogeneration involves the installation of natural gas powered engines that generate electricity on site. The excess heat produced by the plant is harnessed and used to heat the showers, buildings and pool, dramatically reducing the need for facilities to buy electricity and reducing carbon emissions in the process.
Trigeneration, a technology that is to be explored by the new collaboration between the councils, is less common in Australia but is used successfully in Europe and the UK. Trigeneration is similar to cogeneration but utilises heat fired absorption chillers to provide cooling — something that is as essential as heating for most areas in Australia.
The City of Boroondara is already reducing their carbon emissions and their costs now the plant at the APARC is operational. Mayor Kreutz says, “We estimate that the Ashburton cogenerator, together with some other energy efficiency measures, will cut emissions by 1,247 tonnes annually. That’s the equivalent of taking almost 300 cars off the road for a year. We’re anticipating some major savings as well — approximately $1.4 million over twenty years.”
The four councils want to use their experiences as test cases for other councils, producing a feasibility study and business tool kit for installing plants in community and council buildings. Boroondara’s Manager of Environment and Sustainable Living, Adam Hall says, “The kit is likely to contain tools such as data checklists for consultants or possibly templates of contents pages for a feasibility study and business case report and more. We want them to be as relevant and easy to use as possible.”
For more information or to take part, contact the Principal Environmental Sustainability Officer at the City of Boroondara at Nicola.Hoey@boroondara.vic.gov.au or phone 03 9278 4598.
