Origin Energy has signed a $400 million deal with the City of Sydney which will see it lead the development of low-carbon, cost-efficient trigeneration precincts across central Sydney, contributing to a cleaner energy supply for Australia’s largest city.
Under the terms of the Heads of Agreement, Origin’s wholly owned subsidiary Cogent Energy, will invest $100 million over a 10-year period to build trigeneration precincts in four zones across central Sydney. It is predicted that the network could provide as much as 70 per cent of the city’s electricity by 2030.
Trigeneration involves using natural gas-powered engines to generate on-site electricity. It is a highly efficient process, as the waste heat from the engine is captured and re-used to provide heating, or for conversion to chilled water for cooling through an absorption chiller. Using gas as the fuel source offers the potential for a significant reduction in carbon emissions.
The technology is a compelling, alternative energy solution that helps lower carbon emissions and network demand, while increasing energy efficiency and power security and reducing costs for large energy users, for example, commercial buildings, which account for approximately 10 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
