Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
New Energy Grants for the Christchurch Rebuild
14 August 2013
New Energy Grants for the Christchurch Rebuild
The Christchurch Agency for Energy has established a $1.8 million fund in a bid to reduce carbon emissions by encouraging sustainable energy initiatives in the city rebuild.
Developers of buildings inside the four avenues can apply to the Christchurch Energy Grants Scheme to help meet the cost of technology that uses renewable sources of energy. Energy efficiency measures in new or renovated buildings that go well beyond minimum building code standards will also be eligible.
The grants are for private sector developments of at least 1000 square metres and will cover up to 30 per cent of plant costs, up to a maximum of $300,000 per project. The Christchurch City Council will administer the fund on behalf of the energy agency.
The Council's Resource Efficiency Programme Manager, Kevin Crutchley, believes the grants are a great opportunity to support the use of renewable energy.
"The scheme will make it more affordable for major developments to use renewable energy, such as photovoltaic cells for electricity generation or drawing artesian water from beneath the city for heat exchange systems. This new technology tends to be more expensive up front, but in the medium to longer term it can provide significant operational savings."
The grants scheme is part of a refocusing of the Christchurch Agency for Energy, a charitable trust and Council Controlled Organisation set up in 2010 to promote energy efficiency.
The agency was funded in part by the sale of Council carbon credits, but trust chair, Mayor Bob Parker, says the changes to funding from the sale of carbon credits led to a rethink of the energy agency's operations and the trustees have decided to concentrate on initiatives related to the rebuild.
"We're also working with the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority to continue the existing EnergyFirst scheme which provides free concept design advice for new commercial buildings to make them more energy efficient. In Share an Idea, residents told us they wanted a "greener" city and these measures support that."
For more information visit: www.targetsustainability.co.nz
- ends -
Gordon Campbell: On What’s Wrong With The Treaty Principles Bill
Ministry For Culture And Heritage: Reverberations Of Erebus Disaster Still Felt 45 Years Later
Watercare Services: No Cause For Concern After Slightly Elevated Levels Of Arsenic Detected In Treated Waikato River Water
Te Pāti Māori: Government’s First Year A ‘Catastrophe For Māori’
Department Of Internal Affairs: Samoan Citizenship Bill Passes Into Law
NZ National Party: National Acknowledges The Passing Of Hon Nikki Kaye
Mana Mokopuna: Children And Young People Share Vital Insights On Healing From Family Violence And Sexual Violence In New Report
