Page 3105 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 22 August 2017
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and promoting the development of that industry here in the ACT. That reputation is starting to spread. Industry is talking the ACT up. Various ministers, when they travel, are taking the opportunity to promote the ACT as being a centre of excellence when it comes to renewable energy.
Specifically, the ACT government has the renewable energy innovation fund, which was established as a result of the local investment commitments made during the large-scale feed-in tariff auction, where funds were set aside specifically to ensure that resources were available to promote new and upcoming companies here in the ACT and provide a source of funds. A series of grants are available under that program.
I was very pleased just last week to participate in an event over at the ACT’s renewable energy hub, which distributed the latest round of grants under that project. There were about 10 grants given out under the two streams of funding. They went to a range of small ACT innovators who are taking bold steps to develop technology and to get their businesses underway.
Examples are some well-known companies such as Reposit Power and ITP Thermal here in the ACT, through to others that are less well known, such as an organisation called Solcast which is developing a world-leading service for forecasting power output at large solar farms. It is an excellent array of companies, which are doing innovative work here in the ACT. I am particularly pleased that they are using Canberra as their base.
MS ORR: Minister, can you detail some of the recipients of the recently announced renewable energy innovation fund direct grants and the new renewable stream of Innovation Connect, giving a bit more information on them?
MR RATTENBURY: As I mentioned, there are a couple of companies that perhaps many of us have heard of, but others that are new and emerging as well.
Beast Solutions are a Canberra energy consultancy. Out of the grant they received through the renewable energy innovation fund, they will develop a demonstration project at Ginninderry that will capture emissions from waste to generate renewable energy.
Ecospectral are a Canberra company whose BRIM system can reduce energy operating costs and emissions in buildings. They will develop and establish a pilot site with a view to global commercialisation for version 2 of their software and operating systems.
We saw PV Lab Australia, a Canberra-based company that will develop an online service, or app, to provide quality reports on the most commonly used solar panel brands and models, often in consumer installations. Their view is that with more players in the market, quality control issues are now a factor, and they are looking at providing solutions there.
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