There's been plenty of talk about the effect a carbon pricing scheme will have on Australian business and industry, but this week UK research firm Verdantix has come out with some figures on how it might affect sustainable business spending. Using data from 139 firms with revenues of more than $US1 billion in 2009/10 – ranging from AGL and Origin Energy, to ANZ, the Australian Coal Association, BHP Billiton, Coles, Foster’s Group, GE Energy, Green Building Council of Australia, Macquarie Group, NAB, Qantas Airways, Ramsay Health Care, Siemens, Sydney Water, Toll Group, Virgin Blue and Woolworths – Verdantix has forecast that the Australian corporate sustainability market will grow to $3 billion by 2014 – up from $1.7 billion in 2009 – if the Clean Energy bill becomes law, with increased spending on upgraded carbon and energy management systems, expanded energy efficiency programmes, investment in green building technologies and corporate cleantech projects.
"Between 2009 and 2014, Australian sustainable business expenditure will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 13 per cent," the report says. "Growth in spending is driven by economic recovery, oil and electricity price risks, innovation diffusion, competitive dynamics and other risk factors. Regional government incentives also drive spending, but the Australian government’s unclear direction on energy and climate change policy creates uncertainty for firms."
The study also finds that cost reduction plans will continue to dominate the sustainability spend, with initiatives like building energy efficiency and water sustainability set to top many firms’ spending lists. "In 2011 building energy efficiency initiatives alone will account for 16 per cent of firms’ total sustainability spend," the report says. "Rising oil prices, forecast to hit $100 per barrel in 2011, will improve the business case for fuel and emission reduction initiatives such as electric vehicles and infrastructure."
The research sees fuel and emissions reduction investment reaching $319 million in 2011, and breaks it down into $149 million on industrial emissions reduction; $82 million of investments in on-site renewable energy, such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass and waste-to-energy power generation up to 5MW for use onsite and for export to the grid; $37 million on logistics emissions reduction; $31 million on electric vehicles and infrastructure; and $20 million on travel reduction technology. Sustainability strategy, risk management and brand building spend is projected to total $126 million, include assessing the risks posed by climate change and new regulations and building brands aligned with sustainability.
The report also names five sustainability initiatives it predicts will exceed 21 per cent CAGR from 2009 to 2014: 1. Smart grid development and implementation, predicted to grow at 27 per cent per year, with the spend set to grow from $23 million in 2009 to $76 million in 2014; 2. Electric vehicles and infrastructure is expected to reach $61 million by 2014, up from $22 million in 2011, a forecast 22 per cent CAGR; 3. Regulatory affairs and lobbying is predicted to expand at a 22 per cent CAGR with spending expected to grow from $21 million in 2009 to $58 million in 2014; 4. On-site renewable energy is predicted to increase at 21 per cent per year, with spending on technologies like waste-to-energy power generation expected to grow from $70 million in 2009 to $182 million in 2014 – "Much of this growth will be driven by a supportive regulatory environment," says the report; 5. Energy & carbon data management spend is predicted to reach $173 million by 2014, up from $67 million in 2009, a 21 per cent CAGR.
GE funds solar greenhouse
General Electric has invested $58 million towards the construction of a solar-powered greenhouse on the Italian island of Sardinia that will provide power to the national grid as well as grow crops. Bloombergreports that the Su Scioffu project in Villasor – a venture GE is undertaking with Moser Baer India Ltd – began generating electricity on August 30 after the first 5MW of a planned 20MW of capacity became operational, according to a statement this week by both companies. The rest is scheduled to start up this month.
“We like the way the project supports jobs in agriculture,” said Andrew Marsden, a managing director and European leader of the company’s GE Energy Financial Services unit. “There is a stronger emphasis in Europe on not using arable land and encouraging building-mounted solar.” The electricity generated by the Su Scioffu project is enough to power about 10,000 Italian homes, GE said. With the addition of this latest venture, GE has now invested almost $1 billion of equity and debt in 46 solar power plants in six countries, says Bloomberg. The company says it has spent $6 billion in total on renewable projects, including solar, wind, biomass and hydro and geothermal.
STELA returns
AUSTELA, the Australian Solar Thermal Energy Association, has joined its partner solar thermal industry bodies in Europe and South Africa to launch a new International Solar Thermal Electricity Association, to be known as STELAWorld. The annoucement was made in Paris, where Australia's Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson is chairing the two-day IEA Ministerial Meeting, which finishes Wednesday. The Association says the new enitity will be charged with the task of providing policy and investment decision-makers with up-to-date information on the value, benefits and costs of solar thermal power generation. It will also engage with global energy, climate and development agencies – such as the IEA, the UNFCCC, UN Development Program, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the European and Asian Development Banks – to ensure solar thermal power is developed to its full potential in the shift to a low-carbon economy.
"The formation of STELAWorld comes at a critical time for decisions about the direction of world energy policy, and about Australia’s determination to harness the value of its solar resources and solar industry strengths,’ said AUSTELA chair, Andrew Want. "Large-scale solar power costs are falling dramatically, and cost-effective solar thermal energy storage is now a reality. ...Large-scale solar technologies are coming of age, and the goal of breaking the connection between carbon emissions and economic development is now within the world’s grasp."
There's been plenty of talk about the effect a carbon pricing scheme will have on Australian business and industry, but this week UK research firm Verdantix has come out with some figures on how it might affect sustainable business spending. Using data from 139 firms with revenues of more than $US1 billion in 2009/10 – ranging from AGL and Origin Energy, to ANZ, the Australian Coal Association, BHP Billiton, Coles, Foster’s Group, GE Energy, Green Building Council of Australia, Macquarie Group, NAB, Qantas Airways, Ramsay Health Care, Siemens, Sydney Water, Toll Group, Virgin Blue and Woolworths – Verdantix has forecast that the Australian corporate sustainability market will grow to $3 billion by 2014 – up from $1.7 billion in 2009 – if the Clean Energy bill becomes law, with increased spending on upgraded carbon and energy management systems, expanded energy efficiency programmes, investment in green building technologies and corporate cleantech projects.
"Between 2009 and 2014, Australian sustainable business expenditure will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 13 per cent," the report says. "Growth in spending is driven by economic recovery, oil and electricity price risks, innovation diffusion, competitive dynamics and other risk factors. Regional government incentives also drive spending, but the Australian government’s unclear direction on energy and climate change policy creates uncertainty for firms."
The study also finds that cost reduction plans will continue to dominate the sustainability spend, with initiatives like building energy efficiency and water sustainability set to top many firms’ spending lists. "In 2011 building energy efficiency initiatives alone will account for 16 per cent of firms’ total sustainability spend," the report says. "Rising oil prices, forecast to hit $100 per barrel in 2011, will improve the business case for fuel and emission reduction initiatives such as electric vehicles and infrastructure."
The research sees fuel and emissions reduction investment reaching $319 million in 2011, and breaks it down into $149 million on industrial emissions reduction; $82 million of investments in on-site renewable energy, such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass and waste-to-energy power generation up to 5MW for use onsite and for export to the grid; $37 million on logistics emissions reduction; $31 million on electric vehicles and infrastructure; and $20 million on travel reduction technology. Sustainability strategy, risk management and brand building spend is projected to total $126 million, include assessing the risks posed by climate change and new regulations and building brands aligned with sustainability.
The report also names five sustainability initiatives it predicts will exceed 21 per cent CAGR from 2009 to 2014: 1. Smart grid development and implementation, predicted to grow at 27 per cent per year, with the spend set to grow from $23 million in 2009 to $76 million in 2014; 2. Electric vehicles and infrastructure is expected to reach $61 million by 2014, up from $22 million in 2011, a forecast 22 per cent CAGR; 3. Regulatory affairs and lobbying is predicted to expand at a 22 per cent CAGR with spending expected to grow from $21 million in 2009 to $58 million in 2014; 4. On-site renewable energy is predicted to increase at 21 per cent per year, with spending on technologies like waste-to-energy power generation expected to grow from $70 million in 2009 to $182 million in 2014 – "Much of this growth will be driven by a supportive regulatory environment," says the report; 5. Energy & carbon data management spend is predicted to reach $173 million by 2014, up from $67 million in 2009, a 21 per cent CAGR.
GE funds solar greenhouse
General Electric has invested $58 million towards the construction of a solar-powered greenhouse on the Italian island of Sardinia that will provide power to the national grid as well as grow crops. Bloomberg reports that the Su Scioffu project in Villasor – a venture GE is undertaking with Moser Baer India Ltd – began generating electricity on August 30 after the first 5MW of a planned 20MW of capacity became operational, according to a statement this week by both companies. The rest is scheduled to start up this month.
“We like the way the project supports jobs in agriculture,” said Andrew Marsden, a managing director and European leader of the company’s GE Energy Financial Services unit. “There is a stronger emphasis in Europe on not using arable land and encouraging building-mounted solar.” The electricity generated by the Su Scioffu project is enough to power about 10,000 Italian homes, GE said. With the addition of this latest venture, GE has now invested almost $1 billion of equity and debt in 46 solar power plants in six countries, says Bloomberg. The company says it has spent $6 billion in total on renewable projects, including solar, wind, biomass and hydro and geothermal.
STELA returns
AUSTELA, the Australian Solar Thermal Energy Association, has joined its partner solar thermal industry bodies in Europe and South Africa to launch a new International Solar Thermal Electricity Association, to be known as STELAWorld. The annoucement was made in Paris, where Australia's Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson is chairing the two-day IEA Ministerial Meeting, which finishes Wednesday. The Association says the new enitity will be charged with the task of providing policy and investment decision-makers with up-to-date information on the value, benefits and costs of solar thermal power generation. It will also engage with global energy, climate and development agencies – such as the IEA, the UNFCCC, UN Development Program, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the European and Asian Development Banks – to ensure solar thermal power is developed to its full potential in the shift to a low-carbon economy.
"The formation of STELAWorld comes at a critical time for decisions about the direction of world energy policy, and about Australia’s determination to harness the value of its solar resources and solar industry strengths,’ said AUSTELA chair, Andrew Want. "Large-scale solar power costs are falling dramatically, and cost-effective solar thermal energy storage is now a reality. ...Large-scale solar technologies are coming of age, and the goal of breaking the connection between carbon emissions and economic development is now within the world’s grasp."