ARENA grants for businesses using renewables in new ways

A number of food manufacturers have been awarded grants by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) in its efforts to drive industrial decarbonisation.

The government agency is providing a total of $1.98m in grants directly to 10 businesses that are looking to contribute to Australia’s emissions reduction targets by deploying renewable technologies in novel ways. 

The grants are designed to support businesses to undertake feasibility studies that investigate how they can incorporate renewable energy solutions. ARENA will work with industry to share valuable knowledge generated from these studies.

The following grants were announced:

1. $399,503 for G&K O’Connor to achieve decarbonisation for a meat processing facility in Pakenham, Vic. 
2. $110,000 for Paper Australia to investigate using a deep-bore geothermal heating system at a barramundi farm in Maryvale, Vic.
3. $149,850 for Unilever to develop a decarbonisation roadmap for three factories across NSW and Victoria.
4. $242,924 for George Weston Food to modernise refrigeration infrastructure at a smallgoods facility in Castlemaine, Vic.
5. $117,515 for Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water to optimise system operations across water pipelines in Western Victoria.
6. $116,397 for Brown Family Wine Group to investigate the requirements for low emissions and energy efficiency technologies at a winery in Milawa, Vic.
7. $205,000 for Beston Global Food Company for site-wide energy efficiency and electrification projects at its cheese plant in Jervois, SA.  
8. $250,400 for Real Pet Food to consider a heat energy recovery system at pet food manufacturing sites in Qld and NSW.
9. $244,677 for Quantem to improve energy efficiency and examine electrification options across its operations.
10. $147,800 for Bindaree Beef to investigate biomass processing options to harness energy from waste and a meat processing facility in Inverell, NSW.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the studies demonstrate a range of industrial energy users that are taking steps to reduce emissions.

“The grants we’ve announced today are for businesses eager to get on the front foot, looking to deploy renewable energy technologies in new ways.

“ARENA is backing these feasibility studies so they can provide real and replicable examples to industry.”

ARENA’s industrial decarbonisations programs include the $400 million Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS) and the $40 million National Industrial Transformation (NIT) Program. The ITS and NIT Programs support feasibility and engineering studies and demonstration and deployment for renewable energy, energy efficiency and electrification projects for Australian industries. Eligible sectors include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, gas supply, water supply, waste services and data centres.

Applications for ITS and NIT funding remain open. For more information on the program, visit the industrial decarbonisation funding page.

Image credit: iStock.com/scorpp