Efficiency Insight - May 2021
Efficiency Insight is the Energy Efficiency Council's monthly energy management update for members, partners and stakeholders.
Last week I caught up with EEC members at our first Melbourne member lunch since 2019. It’s been a tough year across Australia, but nowhere more so than Victoria. We swapped war stories – and there were plenty of them – but what was most notable to me was the optimism in the room. The energy management market is roaring back into action in Victoria, supported by around $1 billion of targeted energy efficiency stimulus measures in November’s state budget.
It’s not just Victoria; the mood is upbeat around the country. Australia’s economic bounce-back from COVID-19 is streets ahead of most nations around the world. We’re not out of the woods – the devastating images from India are a stark reminder of that. However our relative performance means other defining challenges – such energy and climate – are coming back into focus.
This month's newsletter reflects that renewed focus. We update you on the new, ambitious interim climate targets being set at the state level in Victoria and at the global level in the United States. We cover the outstanding leadership being shown by AGL’s Jenniy Gregory, and by one of our key partners, Deakin University. And we share some of our work from 2020, and the contribution our own Rob Murray-Leach made to informing the early thinking around the impacts of COVID-19 on our sector.
Kind regards,
Connect with Luke on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter.
Luke Menzel
Chief Executive Officer
Energy Efficiency Council
In this newsletter:
- Policy update from Rob Murray-Leach
- Deakin University launches $23 million microgrid at Geelong Waurn Ponds
- Efficiency leader with Jenniy Gregory
- EEC report on the early impacts of COVID-19
- Raising engagement on industrial energy management
- From First Fuel: Assembling the A-Team with Dian Grueneich
Policy update from Rob Murray-Leach
Energy Efficiency Council Head of Policy, Rob Murray-Leach, gives us an update global developments in emission reductions commitments as well as updates on the Victorian Climate Change Strategy and plenty of news from Australia's energy market players.
Deakin University launches $23 million microgrid at Geelong Waurn Ponds
Last month Energy Efficiency Council University Partner Deakin University celebrated the official opening of their $23 million Deakin Renewable Energy Microgrid at the Geelong Waurn Ponds campus.
The opening of the Microgrid boosts Deakin’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2025. It also provides a unique opportunity to make a positive contribution in the collective fight against climate change while also conducting high-value research to benefit Australian communities.
Efficiency Leader - Jenniy Gregory
The energy management sector is made up of many passionate professionals.
In this month’s Efficiency Leader we are profiling Jenniy Gregory, Manager Mandatory Energy Efficiency Programs at AGL.
EEC report on the early impacts of COVID-19
In March 2020 the NSW and Victorian Governments commissioned the EEC to assess the early impacts of COVID-19 on the energy management sector. This report is now public, and is a snapshot of a period of great flux in the energy management sector.
Raising engagement on industrial energy management
A new Industrial Energy Management Task Group has been formed to shape and support the Council’s positions in this burgeoning area of policy and program development.
From First Fuel: Assembling the A-Team with Dian Grueneich
Last week Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel sat down to record episode 41 of the Energy Efficiency Council’s podcast, First Fuel. Luke was joined by Dian Grueneich, Precourt Energy Scholar with Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy. Luke and Dian discuss the detail of the Biden Administration's climate policies, the likelihood of proposed measures passing through Congress, and what the US expects from allies like Australia in the lead up to the next big global climate summit in Glasgow.
Read an edited excerpt from their conversation or visit here to listen to the entire interview.