The Low Carbon Future – What Does It Mean?

What is the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme? (CPRS)?

The CPRS is the scheme currently being legislated by the Australian Federal Government to initiate market forces to reduce the production of greenhouse gases (mainly CO2) as a by-product of human activities such as burning fossil fuels. It is an emissions trading scheme which will use a cap and trade mechanism. The cap - an upper limit on the country’s carbon pollution will be reduced in future years with the ability to trade intended to ensure that pollution reduction opportunities throughout the economy are harnessed
The base building block of the CPRS is the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme (NGERS) where energy users over a threshold level MUST report their energy usage.

These threshold levels are:

Units: TJ = terajoules, kt = kilotonne, CO2-e = carbon dioxide equivalent

So what do the numbers mean in practical terms?
For example, if you have a facility that is spending $1,500,000 per year on electricity or using 7,500m3 of natural gas per today, or any combination of these, then you are required to report your energy usage and greenhouse emissions, and from mid 2011 will be required to purchase carbon credits under the CPRS.

Subsidies for the installation of Renewable Energy Systems

The Australian Federal Government has announced a number of assistance measures for industry under the CPRS legislation. One particular area that the government is focussing on here is the:

Climate Change Action Fund
The Federal Government has established the $2.7billion Climate Change Action Fund to assist businesses prepare for a low pollution future. The Climate Change Action Fund will operate over seven years from 2009-10 to 2015-16 and in particular will assist small to medium sized enterprises and community sector organisations which may be impacted by the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS).
One example of the application of this funding is that in the recent changes made to the CPRS, the Federal Government has committed to a five-year, $150 million stream of assistance for the food processing sector within the Climate Change Action Fund.

Another example is that the Federal Government will also be establishing a $270m Coal Sector Abatement Fund within the Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF) to provide grant funding for coal sector abatement projects and capital grants with a priority for electricity generation from waste coal mine gas. These sorts of applications will be ideal for fuel cell technologies.

For more information, contact information@climatepower.com.au
In addition, depending on what state your business is based in, feed in tariffs from approved renewable energy sources attract high value tariffs of up to $0.60/kWhr. This means that a 100kW system could potentially earn you $5,000 per week if you are grid connected and not using the power yourself.

Need to calculate your carbon emissions?

The following is a link to the Australian Federal Government Department of Climate Change carbon calculator.
https://www.oscar.gov.au/Deh.Oscar.Extension.Web/Content/NgerThresholdCalculator/Default.asp
If you would like assistance to complete this calculation or prefer that it be undertaken by a third party, feel free to contact ClimatePower (information@climatepower.com.au)

Glossary of Terms