Evidently inspired by their own foray into renewable Power Purchasing Agreements, Sydney’s Northern Beaches Council is looking into delivering group PPA for its local business.
It has put out a tender open for those who can find an “effective” group PPA model and then lead its facilitation.
The aim is to find interested businesses and ultimately facilitate connections with renewable generators in a way that lessens the paperwork burden on the small local companies and gives them more buying power.
“Since entering our own Power Purchase Agreement and installing solar panels on our buildings, Council’s own annual electricity costs are expected to be slashed by a staggering $2.4 million over the next seven years, so not only will we reduce our carbon footprint, but these savings mean the money can be diverted back into the community for infrastructure and projects,” Northern Beaches Mayor Michael Regan said.
“There are more than 32,000 businesses on the Northern Beaches who, between them, are responsible for 38% of CO2 emissions of which around 61% is from electricity emissions.”
“We’re hoping to create an opportunity for local businesses to join forces and negotiate a great long-term deal that is secure, affordable at market-driven rates and not to mention the environment benefits – it’s a win, win.”
The council currently has a PPA with Iberdrola, which owns the Bodangora Wind Farm. It isn’t clear whether it would also seek to connect its business group to Iberdrola though.
Expressions of interest are currently being sought from organisations that can set up and run a PPA for our local businesses. Applications can be submitted via Tenderlink by 22 November 2022.
Council will review the submissions to determine the best model for our local businesses over the next few months.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
