Lord Mayor Clover Moore has welcomed a $5 million funding boost, announced by Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus.
The $5 million will be added to $12 million in City funding for the installation of trigeneration plants at Town Hall House and Prince Alfred Park Pool.
It was one of 63 grants totalling $42 million as part of the Federal Government's Community Energy Efficiency program.
It comes on top of a $3.75 million grant for trigeneration for the Green Square Town Centre as part of the Liveable Cities Program, announced in April.
The City's low-carbon energy network could save NSW electricity consumers as much as $1.5 billion by 2030 in avoided or delayed spending on electricity grid upgrades and new power stations.
In April, the City signed a heads of agreement with energy company Cogent, wholly owned by Origin, to build the trigeneration energy network in Sydney.
The City's interim trigeneration master plan estimates a total capacity of 360 MW by 2030 at a cost of $440 million (2010 dollars), supplying 70 per cent of the local government area's electricity requirements.
Under the agreement, Cogent will provide trigeneration services to council and privately owned buildings in four low-carbon-zones across central Sydney: Green Square, CBD North (Martin Place/George Street),CBD South (Town Hall Precinct) and Pyrmont/Broadway.
According to Mayor Moore, the City's trigeneration network will improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon pollution.
“Households and businesses connected to the network will get a cleaner and cost-competitive alternative to the rising cost of coal-fired electricity," she said.
"Gas-fired trigeneration is more than twice as energy efficient as coal-fired electricity and our network will produce electricity, heating and cooling for surrounding buildings.
According to Mayor Moore the Federal Government's extra funding will help us reach our target to cut carbon pollution across the City of Sydney by 70 per cent by 2030 and make Sydney one of Australia's leading low-carbon city.
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