The City of Sydney has signed a contract with engineering consultancy pitt&sherry and Paul Bannister’s energy efficiency consultancy Exergy to calculate greenhouse gas emissions that can be cut by city-wide energy efficiency measures.
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said it would be the most comprehensive assessment of the energy efficiency potential of the city’s building stock ever undertaken, and form the basis of a new energy efficiency master plan.
“We’ve cut 20 per cent of energy use in our own buildings,” she said. “The challenge now is to make similar or greater savings across the entire city.
“This plan will show building owners and their tenants just how much they can save on power bills by reducing energy use.
“Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is the most cost effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
The work will look at all building sectors including residential, commercial and small business.
Phil Harrington, principal carbon and energy consultant at pitt&sherry, said the plan would help the City reach its emissions reduction target of 70 per cent by 2030.
“We have extensive knowledge and experience modelling energy and greenhouse gas emissions in buildings and we are confident we can provide the innovative research the city requires to continue its drive to reduce emissions,” he said.
Between 2009 and 2012, energy efficiency retrofits of the City’s own buildings reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent, saving $880,000 a year in electricity costs.
