June 2023
Great news for Australian councils looking to decarbonise and improve the efficiency of public pools and other facilities. The Australian Government has announced a $100m Community Energy Upgrades Fund to co-fund upgrades with local councils to deliver high-impact energy upgrades to help control energy bills for years to come and significantly reduce emissions.
View the full announcement: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/helping-communities-save-energy-save-energy-bills
Aquatic centres and public pools are some of the highest energy consuming assets for local government. With many reliant on gas for heating, these facilities are increasingly becoming a source of cost and emissions liabilities for councils, with sky-rocketing energy cost putting some of these highly valued public assets under threat. This energy upgrade fund stands to deliver major energy and emission savings through building fabric upgrades and the replacement of gas water heating with high efficiency electric heat pumps that can simultaneously provide heating and cooling services to the facility and utilise on-site renewable electricity generation.
A2EP has been advocating for the upgrade of high energy consuming aquatic centres and public pools, highlighting the huge potential for switching to heat pumps and improving overall efficiency.