Energy efficiency, energy costs and investment in renewables

The Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program is the largest energy efficiency program in Australia, giving all households and businesses the opportunity to save on energy costs through discounted energy efficient products and services.

More than 530,000 Victorian households and businesses benefitted from energy efficient upgrades through the VEU program in 2022, saving an estimated 7.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

More than two million households and 150,000 business premises have participated in the VEU program since it commenced in 2009. 

This equates to around 78.5 million tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions savings.

The program has reduced Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 75 million tonnes to date with average annual bill savings of $110 for participating households and $3700 for participating businesses.

What is government doing to ensure a reliable and affordable energy supply for businesses?

The Victorian Government is ensuring a reliable and affordable energy supply for businesses through the range of nation-leading targets, programs, and projects that it is delivering as part of our renewable energy transition.

We’ve laid the groundwork for the creation of new, cheap, renewable energy through our energy policy framework, which includes: 

• emissions reduction targets of 75 per cent to 80 per cent (on 2005 levels) by 2035 and net zero by 2045
• renewable energy targets of 65 per cent renewable energy generation by 2030, and 95 per cent by 2035
• energy storage targets of at least 2.6 gigawatts of energy storage capacity by 2030 and 6.3 gigawatts by 2035
• offshore wind targets of at least two gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2032, four gigawatts by 2035 and nine gigawatts by 2040.

We’re helping deliver the initiatives that will boost the amount of renewable energy in our system, including wind, solar and energy storage projects such as:         

• the 204-megawatt Bulgana wind farm, part of the Bulgana Green Power Hub in central-west Victoria, 
• the 102-megawatt Glenrowan solar farm near Wangaratta (one of hundreds of megawatts of renewables projects to be delivered through the second VRET reverse auction), and  
• the 300-megawatt Victorian Big Battery in Geelong, the biggest lithium-ion battery in the Southern Hemisphere. 

The Victorian Government is working to empower gas-reliant Victorian businesses to embrace sustainable alternatives to fossil gas and improve access to an affordable, secure, reliable, and safe energy supply.

What about energy dense businesses like data centres?

I recently attended the opening of the 927-kW solar PV system at the Equinix Port Melbourne data centre. The solar facility has been supported by the Victorian Government’s Victorian Energy Upgrade (VEU) Program.

The project is being delivered by Planet Ark Power and the VEU incentive is being facilitated by Northmore Gordon Environmental, a VEU Accredited Provider. The VEU discount covered approximately 25 per cent of the total system cost and helping to save approximately 7678 tonnes of greenhouse gas. •