Business Renewables Centre Australia

Project overview

Lead Organisation
Climate-KIC Australia
Location
New South Wales
ARENA Program
Advancing Renewables Program
Start date
13 September 2018
End date
30 March 2022
Project Partners
None
This renewables project was completed on 30 March 2022.

Summary

The Business Renewables Centre Australia project will establish the first Business Renewables Centre in Australia (BRC-A) – an online resource centre and marketplace platform, supported by face-to-face events and training to increase renewable energy use within Australian organisations (particularly commercial and industrial energy users).

Key results

The project established the first Business Renewables Centre in Australia (BRC-A) – an online resource centre and marketplace platform, supported by events and training to facilitate Australian organisations (particularly commercial and industrial energy users) to increase their utilisation of renewable energy through Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

The project met and exceeded all project milestones over the 3-year period, including:

the delivery of events, training, webinars and briefings to more than 5,500 industry stakeholders
collective contracting of 1.8 GW of renewable energy by energy buyer members
supporting 3.9 GW of renewable energy projects
industry membership numbers well in excess of project milestones/expectations (220+ member organisations in Oct 2021).

BRC-A also developed and made available 18 tools and resources providing industry guidance on a wide range of topics relating to corporate renewable PPAs, as well as a public website and members portal, including a roadmap and marketplace platform, and three State of the Market reports (delivered annually across the initiative).

This project consists of:

Project Knowledge

Contact

Name: Alex Nassar, Project Officer
Email: alex@businessrenewables.org.au

Last updated
11 November 2022

Learn more

Report: Business Renewables Centre Australia Final

This report details the BRC-A project, the first Australian online resource centre and marketplace platform for corporate renewables Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs).

Report: State of the Market 2021

The Business Renewables Centre’s State of the Market Report is an annual survey of energy market participants. This report highlights key trends in Corporate Renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

Report: Corporations Making the Shift to Renewables

An interview with members of the Business Renewables Centre Australia: The University of Western Australia and Frasers Property.

Report: Corporate Renewable Power Purchase Agreements in Australia

The 2019 State of the Corporate PPA Market report provides an overview of the sector and its key trends.

Presentation: Renewable Energy for Business Simplified Nov 2019

This presentation was given by Chris Briggs, Technical Director of the Business Renewables Centre.

Media Release: Australia’s First Business Renewables Centre to Help Australian Businesses to Switch to Renewables

ARENA announced it will help build Australia’s first Business Renewables Centre to encourage Australian businesses to make the switch to renewable energy.

How the Project Works

The Business Renewables Centre Australia project partners – Climate-KIC Australia, WWF Australia and the Institute of Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney – bring global networks, technical and industry expertise and an established community to the project. The BRC-A will build on WWF Australia’s Renewable Energy Buyers Forum, which brings together more than 200 companies, institutions, state and local governments, renewable energy project developers and professional service providers. The project will deliver a number of resources including templates and guides, a marketplace platform, training and industry events to support buyers and developers with negotiating and executing power purchase agreements (PPAs). Read more about renewables for industry.

Area of Innovation

The BRC-A is the first Australian online resource centre and marketplace platform for corporate renewables PPAs. The project partners have established a collaboration agreement with the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Business Renewables Center (BRC) in the United States to licence its brand and adapt its tools and resources for the Australian market. The BRC is a proven model, which has played a critical role in unlocking the corporate PPA market in the US. The aim of the BRC-A is to do the same in Australia.

Benefit

There is a growing desire among Australian organisations to utilise more renewable energy. The project intends to overcome the lack of resources and awareness of corporate renewable PPAs, which is seen as a current barrier. The BRC‑A’s online resources will help organisations understand and procure renewable energy PPAs and will be free to access for the first year. The goal of the project is to help Australian organisations procure 1 GW of renewable energy by 2022 and 5 GW by 2030.

Business Renewables Centre Australia