Tasmanias reputation as Australias clean energy state has been confirmed again with a clever project from local small business Saturn South that can help families and businesses save energy and reduce power costs.
Minister for Finance and Deregulation Senator Penny Wong today joined Senator Carol Brown to announce funding of more than $115,000 to Saturn South under the Federal Governments Clean Technology Innovation Program.
Tasmania generates a significant amount of Australias renewable energy, with renewable hydro and wind power currently delivering 87 per cent of Tasmania's installed electricity generation capacity, Minister Wong said.
Despite this excellent record, Tasmanian businesses continue to show why the state is considered a clean energy leader by constantly finding pioneering ways of becoming more energy efficient.
Saturn Souths project will help consumers understand and better manage their energy consumption.
Senator Carol Brown said the project will result in affordable products that help drive down the cost of power.
This is an exciting project that will show the worth of demand management technologies in isolated power networks, Senator Brown said.
The company will use todays funding to further develop a range of hardware products for homes and businesses. These devices are installed in switchboards and act as a power meter and switch, turning off discretionary loads, such as hot water systems, to control the level of demand for power.
Saturn Souths technology is part of Hydro Tasmanias King Island Renewable Energy Integration Project and installation of the devices on King Island will be complete by mid-2013.
Director of Saturn South, Mr Tim Warren, thanked the Federal Government for the funding and said it would help the company grow and expand into newly developing clean energy markets.
Our products allow businesses and households to monitor their energy consumption and identify wasteful usage patterns, Mr Warren said.
This enables consumers to manage their energy usage and reduce their power bills.
In addition to the benefits to individual consumers, power companies are using this technology to dynamically adjust the total energy demand in their networks. This control capability helps to improve the stability of the electrical grid, allowing increased adoption of intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
The $200 million Clean Technology Innovation program is an important part of the Gillard Government's plan for a clean energy future and will help create new business opportunities, new industries and new jobs.
The program provides grants of between $50,000 and $5 million. Applications are accepted on a continuous basis and potential applicants should visit ausindustry.gov.au.