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2022 NATIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The National Energy Efficiency Awards recognise and celebrate excellence in energy efficiency, energy management and demand response across Australia.

Presented by the Energy Efficiency Council (EEC), the National Energy Efficiency Awards 2022 were announced across the two days of the National Energy Efficiency Conference, 25-26 May 2022. 

Luke Menzel, CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council, congratulated the winners.

“These people, projects and programs represent very best in residential, industrial, commercial and government efficiency and demand response in Australia. We at the EEC are always excited to be recognising world-class energy efficiency projects through the National Energy Efficiency Awards.”

The National Energy Efficiency Awards 2022 were supported by award sponsor Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and award partners Business Australia and the Energy Users Association of Australia (EUAA).

2022 AWARD WINNERS

Energy Efficiency Champion 2022
Winner: Ian McNicol

Presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in advancing the energy efficiency industry, through advocacy, research, education or projects.

 
Ian has worked in the sustainable energy field since the early 1990. Since joining Sustainability Victoria in early 1999, Ian has worked on a range of partnership programs coordinating the Energy Task Force, the National Framework for Energy Efficiency and the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Scheme. He has represented Victoria on the national Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Program, which oversees mandatory standards and labelling for appliances and equipment, since 2002.

Over the last decade, Ian has managed a range of projects investigating the energy efficiency upgrade potential of Victoria’s existing housing stock.

In 2016, Ian worked with consultants to develop SV’s initial Zero Net Carbon modelling tool. This led to a successful proposal for SV’s ZNC pilot program with three volume home builders. Ian is an active participant in current national discussions about whole-of-house modelling tools under the NatHERS framework.

Ian has devoted a large part of his professional career to policy development and modelling that has underpinned the success of Victorian programs. As Senior Energy Adviser, Energy Efficiency at Ian has been dubbed by his colleagues at SV the ‘grandfather of the Victorian Energy Upgrades program’ and has been involved with every residential activity in the scheme that has saved more than 35 million tonnes of emissions to date. Ian’s research has also driven energy efficiency retrofits and Sustainability Victoria’s Zero Net Carbon Homes project. Ian leads by doing, and his passion for energy data and energy efficiency is an inspiration to his colleagues.

Energy Efficiency Champion 2021
Winner: Caroline Pidcock

Presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in advancing the energy efficiency industry, through advocacy, research, education or projects.

Over the last three decades, Caroline has been a leading voice for development of a sustainable built environment. Caroline is passionate about the importance of architecture, biophilia and regenerative design. Caroline’s practice works to create a future which is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative. As a thought leader in sustainable architecture, Caroline is an ambassador of the Al Gore Climate Project, the chair of 1 Million Women, a movement of women and girls fighting climate change by taking practical action, a board member of Renew, and a past president of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council.

In 2009, Caroline was awarded a scholarship to investigate "The Architecture of Zero Emissions Housing" to discover how this might impact the technical and design approaches of the practice. Extending the ideas of this research led her to the Living Building Challenge where she joined the Board, and in 2013 established and chaired the Living Future Institute Australia.

Caroline has channelled her experience into her own architecture firm in Canberra, and we are delighted to recognise Caroline’s long demonstrated passion, dedication and leadership today.

Young Energy Efficiency Professional 2022
Winner: Alan Wuyi Wang

Presented to an individual under 35 years of age, who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in advancing the energy efficiency industry, through advocacy, research, education or projects

 

Alan is an emerging leader in the Australian energy efficiency industry, specialising in measurement and verification. Alan is a Principal Consultant with Northmore Gordon, where he has established an internal M&V team. Alan has advanced M&V practice in Victoria. He led the first M&V project to deliver Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates; pioneered the Solar VEECs solution using M&V for large-scale solar installations, and studied gas saving measures to avoid gas shortfalls. Alan is passionate about energy efficiency and the transition away from fossil fuels and works hard to build knowledge both in his professional networks, and his local community of Wyndham. 

Energy Efficiency Council Life Fellow 2022
Sara Gipton

For significant contributions to the development and advancement of the Energy Efficiency Council.

 

Sara served as the Council’s Treasurer for nearly six years from February 2015 to October 2020. She is a passionate and recognised leader in climate change policy, carbon markets and corporate sustainability.

Sara’s previous roles include as CEO of Greenfleet, whose operations she transformed into a highly respected leader in the forest carbon abatement industry. Sara was also CEO of FSC Australia where she led the finalisation and launch of the first FSC Australian Forest Management Standard.

In her tenure as Treasurer on the Council’s Board, Sara played a crucial role in supporting the Energy Efficiency Council’s development from a fledgling organisation into the respected, well-governed and scalable entity it is today. Many of the existing governance structures on which the Council is currently building were of her design and influence. Her financial acumen, strategic insight, consistent engagement and attention to detail were invaluable to the Board and management, especially through the unprecedented crisis that the onset of the COVID-pandemic caused within and external to the Council. She also took a keen interest in the welfare of staff throughout that period, and acted as a trusted advisor and mentor for senior staff. Sara left the Council’s governance, Board and staff well-placed to build on past successes.

Sara’s outstanding contribution to the Council and its mission, especially as a non-member in a voluntary capacity, is undisputed, and her legacy is of a significant and decisive contribution to the development of the energy management sector.

Best Innovation in Energy Management 2022
Winner: Chilled Plant Water Optimisation, by Exergenics 

Recognising performance, leadership and innovation for new products that deliver improvements in energy productivity.

  

Exergenics developed an optimisation engine that has been demonstrated to reduce chiller plant energy use by between 3.6% and 13.4%, with an average reduction of 7.1%. The optimisation engine also enables the chiller plants to deliver required cooling output while performing the most energy-intensive operations away from peak demand hours. This results in a peak demand reduction of 4.2% to 15.4%, with an average of 7.3%.

The optimisation engine is a cloud-based, API-first solution with automated processes, which lowers barriers to implementation of chilled water plant optimisation solutions. The solution will accelerate change in the sector by making portfolio-wide deployment and performance benchmarking seamless. This will also impact how engineers design and manage energy-intensive equipment such as HVAC systems through increased transparency on the operational performance of systems.

The implementation of the solution at the Queensland Children's Hospital resulted in the saving of 186,703 kilowatt-hours, equivalent to 149 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions since implementation. 

Best Commercial Building Energy Management Project 2022
Winner: Beyond Net Zero, by Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre (PICAC)

Recognising performance, leadership and innovation for commercial building energy management projects.

 

PICAC in Narre Warren, Melbourne, is a state-of-the-art training facility designed as a zero-energy building, using an integrated solution of passive design, active design, and renewable energy.

The building uses a combination of renewable technologies, including geothermal, solar PV, and solar thermal. It is the first Australian building to use building foundation screw piles for geothermal energy generation. Passive design strategies and active systems, such as natural lighting and ventilation, in-slab hydronic heating, and evaporative cooling also help achieve the design aim.

The independent verifier, Deakin University, developed a sensor-based monitoring system for Net Zero energy accreditation, referring to the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory guideline.

PICAC achieved a substantial energy positive outcome for the monitored year, July 2020 to June 2021.  It also delivered an electricity saving of 13,704 kilowatt-hours between March and June 2021 compared to the prior year as a result of careful commissioning.        

Best Industrial Energy Management Project 2022
Winner: Increased Heat Recovery Project, by BlueScope Steel

 
Recognising performance, leadership and innovation for industrial energy management projects.

 

The project at the Western Sydney Paint Line manufacturing facility maximised heat recovery in the paint curing ovens reducing natural gas demand.

Each oven has a recycled heat damper, a natural gas burner and combustion air system to control thermal requirements. As Colorbond products are cured, volatile components are evaporated and exhausted with the waste gas. This waste gas, rich in volatile components, is combusted in a regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO) and the waste heat absorbed and recovered via refractory media to recycle back to the curing ovens.

The project minimised exhaust flow to require less cold air input to the ovens; increased recycled hot air fan capacity with a bigger motor and variable speed drive to maintain downturn performance; and allowed the ovens and regenerative thermal oxidiser to cool to a lower standby status when the painting process was delayed. It also improved the process control system used to balance oven pressure, minimised ingress of ambient air into the ovens and optimised existing heat recovery equipment, reducing gas consumption required to maintain oven temperature.

The project saved 20 per cent of total site natural gas consumption.

Best Residential Energy Management Project 2022
Winner: Adelaide's First Efficient 10 Star Home, by Suho

Recognising performance, leadership and innovation for residential energy management projects  

 

Adelaide's First Energy Efficient 10 Star Home demonstrates the possibilities of sustainable design and construction in the Australian residential housing market. Achieving a NatHERS 10 Star energy efficiency rating, it uses three (3) megajoules per square metre annually for heating and cooling compared to ninety-six (96) megajoules per square metre for the average newly built home in Australia.

Smart automation systems include a Tindo PV Array, Stiebel Eltron mechanical heat recovery ventilation, Beacon Commercial fans, while ABB automation empowers occupants. The home can be off grid with the integration of energy efficient appliances, a Stiebel Eltron heat pump and ABB EV Charger.

This home can build knowledge, and adoption, of more climate-friendly home. By providing data to governing bodies, CSIRO, associations, industry and community it increases understanding of the relationship between human, house and environment 

Leading Energy User 2022
In partnership with the Energy Users Association of Australia
Winner: Telstra Infraco 

Leading Energy User is presented to an energy user that has demonstrated excellence in energy management at either the site or portfolio level.

  

The Energy Reduction Program encompasses numerous projects focussing on InfraCo's largest energy source, the energy used for building services such as air conditioning, power conversion systems and lighting. This program is a major contributor to Telstra's public commitment to reduce absolute carbon emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2030, compared to 2019 levels.

The program is based on a three-phase strategy. First, inspection of assets, where air-conditioning efficiency specialists, all refrigeration mechanics, have the skills to identify and implement many optimisation opportunities while on site. Second, asset upgrades to improve energy efficiency using a Total Cost of Ownership approach. And third, monitoring closely how assets are running and how much energy they are using. This allows validation of improvements being made and to continually improve energy management.

From 1 July 2019 to 28 Feb 2022, InfraCo invested $15.3M into the program, which has delivered annual energy savings of 36,400 megawatt-hours. 

Leading Energy User 2022
In partnership with the Energy Users Association of Australia
Highly Commended: Bega Cheese Ltd 

Leading Energy User is presented to an energy user that has demonstrated excellence in energy management at either the site or portfolio level.

   

Bega's program was developed to drive energy intensity and emissions reduction across a portfolio of cheese and retail food sites. In 2018, Bega worked with Shell Energy to develop an Energy Reduction Roadmap which identified a pathway for reduced energy intensity. The program implemented submetering, connected existing and new metering to Energy Management Software, established energy intensity targets, began monthly site energy reports, identified energy efficiency opportunities, and set a plan to implement improvemnets. Bega Cheese has continued to work with Shell Energy to roll out energy efficiency projects providing significant energy, cost and emissions reductions.

They have also made improvmenets to the business' procedures in alignment with ISO50001 Energy Management System standard. The program covers six main manufacturing sites with a total energy usage of 1,920 terajoules per year. The standout site has been their Port Melbourne site which achieved a 6.8% reduction in energy usage equating to 11,274 gigajoules.

Integrated Clean Energy 2022
In partnership with
ARENA
Winner: 101 Collins Street - Gas hot water plant conversion to heat pump with solar PV, by Thermal Energy Solutions and A.G. Coombs 

Presented to a nominated project that has demonstrated excellence in integrating high levels of energy productivity and renewable energy at the site, portfolio, precinct or community level

  

This project in a high-profile existing building showcases a technology solution to improve energy efficiency and electrify to remove Scope 1 emissions. The project converted domestic hot water generation from the original building calorifiers, connected to the buildings natural gas-fired heating hot water plant, to a system featuring highly efficient commercial heat pumps, thermal storage calorifier tanks and solar PV collectors to provide off grid DC electrical energy production.

Eight kilowatts of solar PV was added to the level 55 roof. The new solar PV system provides the primary heating for the four 500-litre Enermax tanks via electric immersion heating elements.

During the initial period post final commissioning the new plant reduced energy consumption by eighty-one per cent compared to the previous plant, and reduced associated greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Best Energy Saving Program 2022
Winner: Small Business Energy Saver Program, by the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

Awarded to programs that drive improvements in energy management, increase retrofit opportunities, improve reliability or deliver other benefits to the grid.

   

Launched in March 2021, the Small Business Energy Saver Program provides financial support for up to 5,000 Victorian small businesses to undertake energy efficiency upgrades. The program provides a bonus incentive that significantly reduces the cost of upgrades delivered through the Victorian Energy Upgrades program. The program leverages organisations such as Greenhouse Alliances, Local Government and peak bodies to engage with local business and trades to promote and educate small business on energy saving opportunities. The program has been delivered as a COVID economic recovery support measure and will contribute to the Victorian Government's Interim Climate Change Targets and concludes in June 2022.                                            

Between June 2021 and March 2022, the program provided energy efficiency upgrades to 3,600 small businesses. From the upgrades delivered to date, the program will save 8,240 megawatt-hours, 7,651 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and $2.14 million in energy per year in conjunction with a variety of co-benefits. 

Best Energy Saving Program 2022
Highly Commended: Sustainable Household Scheme, by the ACT Government's Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate

Awarded to programs that drive improvements in energy management, increase retrofit opportunities, improve reliability or deliver other benefits to the grid.

  

The ACT Government committed $150 million to assist households and community organisations to make energy efficiency upgrades to their homes and premises.

The Scheme provides zero-interest loans between $2,000 and $15,000 to help homeowners reduce energy use and costs, live more comfortably and future proof their homes for a changing climate.

The Scheme is the first in Australia to offer a full suite of sustainable products. It will see over 10,000 ACT homes benefit over its five-year life. Loans can be used to purchase products including rooftop solar, household battery storage, hot water heat pumps, electric stove tops, electric heating and cooling, electric vehicle chargers, and new and used electric vehicles.

The program aims to reduce living costs and support the individual wellbeing of our population. The Scheme supports human focused resilience and adaptation for climate change, economic development, affordable and clean energy, industry innovation and participation which places Canberra as a sustainable and liveable city.

  

NATIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY AWARDS 2022, PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY: