The application process has now opened for the Federal Governments scheme to support small and medium businesses deal with rising power bills. The first round of the Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (EEGSME) scheme opened on Monday 6th March and closes on Wednesday 19th April at 5 pm (AEST).
Up to $25000 is available for eligible businesses to upgrade or replace existing equipment to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs and there is a total $16 million on the table for this grant opportunity.
The objectives of the program are to:
- improve energy efficiency practices and increase the uptake of energy efficient technologies
- assist small and medium businesses to manage their energy usage and costs
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
To apply, businesses must have a headcount of 199 people or fewer and plan energy-focused expenditure of $10,000 or more. Grant funding will be distributed between states and territories and on a first come first served basis until funding is exhausted in each jurisdiction.
Eligibility for Energy Efficiency Grants
You can apply for Energy Efficiency Grants if you are an entity incorporated in Australia, a partnership or a sole trader and you must:
- have an Australian business number (ABN)
- be a small or medium sized business with an employee headcount from 1 to 199 employees averaged over any consecutive 12-month period since 1 July 2019
- have consent from the owner of the project location to undertake the project, if the entity is not the owner of the project location.
Eligible projects may include:
- an energy audit of your site or part of your site
- purchase or hire of equipment to measure, monitor and record energy use or to monitor a process, where this facilitates optimisation or energy management
- purchase of equipment to replace existing equipment, where the new equipment is higher energy efficiency
- costs to decommission, remove and dispose of the old equipment that is replaced
- purchase of equipment or components to help an existing system run more efficiently in regard to energy
- design, and reasonable installation costs of eligible equipment, including any necessary wiring or other electrical work required to enable the project
- building permits or approval costs to install equipment, where required
- the cost of suppliers, consultants and contracted labour undertaking eligible project activities.
Examples of projects that are eligible for energy efficiency grants include installation of LED lighting, new energy-efficient refrigerators and air conditioners, water boiler replacements, insulation around ovens and pipework, and double-glazed windows.
You can apply for the Energy Efficiency Grant here.
Please reach out to the team at MGI, if you need support in preparing your application.
