The first quarter of 2014 has seen some significant changes in EUA legislation with South Australia releasing draft legislation for community consultation. The legislation will allow all councils in South Australia to initiate a Building Upgrade Finance programs and will facilitate banks to finance energy and water efficiency projects. Similar to existing legislation in New South Wales and the City of Melbourne, the South Australian legislation will tie the loan to the property overcoming the inherent split incentive between building owners and tenants.
In Victoria, the Plan Melbourne document was released in late 2013 which advocated for the roll out of EUAs throughout Victoria. Along with a number of organisations, SMF provided a submission advocating for this expansion as short term goal to the Victorian State government. These submissions are currently being reviewed by the department.
In March, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) announced it will provide finance of up to $30 million for Environmental Upgrade Agreements (EUAs) which will be available through NAB and Eureka Funds Management, bringing the total to up to a joint amount of $80 million allocated for EUAs. CEFC’s CEO, Oliver Yates said “this CEFC and NAB commitment will support growth of EUA finance in Australia and provide a boost for commercial property owners and managers seeking to reduce their buildings’ energy consumption and costs”.
In line with these positive legislative changes and increase in EUA finance allocation, we’re now offering new services for local council to manage the facilitation of EUA finance for building owner in councils. As a dedicated resource that can facilitate EUA finance, SMF acts as a trusted intermediary and provides ongoing monitoring and reporting. As discussed in Scott’s CEO report, with momentum building at the state government level, EUA programs can facilitate your local government environmental strategy and at the same time, minimise risks, stimulate economic growth and empower building owners to undertake energy efficient actions.
To launch this offering, we’ve updated our website to clearly communicate the benefits of EUA’s and the process to key stakeholders and clients as well as updates on legislative changes across the country and industry events. Please visit the various pages of the website to see the information available for building owners, tenants, service providers, local councils and financiers. The resource tab also contains case studies that highlight he types of projects we have financed in the past. Leave your comments below or contact us to discuss your project today.
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