AUSTRALIA, 14 FEBRUARY 2022
Real Utilities, Frasers Property Australia’s wholly owned licensed energy retailing business, in conjunction with Frasers Property Industrial, has delivered on its $75 million commitment to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) with the successful delivery of embedded networks in two industrial facilities, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne, which deliver zero carbon energy.
The installation and commissioning of the embedded networks is now complete, with the facilities including an office-warehouse facility at The Horsley Park Estate in Western Sydney, tenanted by Williams Sonoma, and a dual industrial facility at the Rubix Connect estate in Melbourne tenanted by efm Logistics and Ozito Industries (Ozito).
Both estates are owned and developed by Frasers Property Industrial.
The Australian Government’s CEFC agreed to invest up to $75 million, as part of a A$300 million sustainability linked loan secured by Frasers Property Australia, for Real Utilities to deploy clean energy technologies in the facilities and deliver a 100% certified carbon neutral energy outcome for the tenants at no additional cost.
“These innovative embedded networks provide a resilient and cost-effective power solution to the industrial facilities and importantly, it means the tenants enjoy green power for the cost of brown,” Paolo Bevilacqua, General Manager, Real Utilities says.
“We’re grateful to partner with the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation to deliver these industry-first carbon neutral energy outcomes and highlight the clean energy possibilities of embedded networks in the industrial sector,” he says.
US-based international kitchen tools, cookware and appliances retailer Williams Sonoma’s first directly leased Australian storage and distribution warehouse at Frasers Property Industrial’s $155 million The Horsley Park Estate in Western Sydney comprises a 16,755 square metre warehouse, 640 sqm office and 67 car spaces.
Real Utilities has facilitated a 275kW solar PV array, 200 kWh battery and a 180 kVA biodiesel generator in the facility’s embedded network.
In Melbourne, the Real Utilities embedded network in the efm Logistics and Ozito dual warehouse at Rubix Connect includes 200kWh of battery storage and a 400kVa biodiesel generator set, complemented by a 500kW solar PV installation to generate clean energy on-site.
The resilient power solutions at both facilities, incorporating solar, battery storage and biodiesel generators, are believed to be a first of its kind renewable energy microgrid implementation within a distribution and logistics setting.
Ryan Rathbone, Director of Property Investment, CEFC said: “The innovative approach delivered at these two industrial facilities is an exciting demonstration of how distributed energy solutions can be used to deliver carbon neutral electricity. In extending the benefits of clean energy to its industrial tenants, Real Utilities is unlocking the value of onsite renewable energy technologies and also increasing the resilience of these large-scale industrial assets. We congratulate Real Utilities on this exciting contribution towards achieving net zero emissions.”
Real Utilities owns, manages, and maintains the energy infrastructure in the facilities. In addition to supplying Climate Active-certified carbon neutral energy, the embedded networks also enable Real Utilities to participate in new markets.
“With the inclusion of battery storage and biodiesel generators, the Real Utilities embedded networks enable the facilities to remain fully operational in the event of grid outage,” Mr Bevilacqua explains.
“Additionally, we have configured the gensets to run synchronised with the grid, so the gensets and batteries can run in response to high prices in the National Electricity Market, and export power back to the grid in times of market stress. The systems can also respond to excursions in the grid system frequency, to support the grid in times of electrical system stress.
“In this way, Real Utilities is able to capitalise on high price events in the National Electricity Market, selling energy when demand peaks, and also participating in frequency control and ancillary services markets,” he says.
Real Utilities supplies energy for Frasers Property Australia’s residential communities and shopping centres, as well as Frasers Property Industrial and Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust’s assets in Australia. As a stand-alone licensed energy retailing business, the company also works with external customers. It installs and operates its own energy infrastructure such as solar panels, batteries and biodiesel generators, enabling it to provide a combination of renewable energy, certified carbon offsets and certified renewable energy certificates to people and businesses.
Real Utilities – and the energy it provides – is certified carbon neutral by the Australian Government’s Climate Active program.
In April 2021, Real Utilities signed a seven-year renewable energy certificate purchase agreement with Origin Energy which will see the company purchase 140,000 certificates per year from 2024 to 2030 to cover 100% of the projected electricity demands of its business and residential customers.
“With our understanding of property and our capacity to supply 100% certified carbon neutral energy through a mix of on-site and off-site renewable energy sources, we’re able to provide fit-for-purpose energy solutions to customers in a cheaper, greener, simpler way,” Mr Bevilacqua says.
“This contributes to the sustainability targets and decarbonisation strategies of our customers,” he says.
For more information about Real Utilities, call 1300 16 16 68 or visit realutilities.com.au.
