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Trigeneration

The City of Sydney’s vision of powering Sydney’s buildings with low carbon energy systems that provide power, heating and cooling is about to become a reality.


International acclaim for the City's Trigeneration initiatives -
read the New Scientist article, Cents and sustainability: Powering future cities.


Read an article on the Global Mail website entitled The Hidden Cost Of Infinite Energy (Part 2) by Ellen Fanning on rising electricity prices, the solutions and action being taken by the City of Sydney.

TrigenA low carbon energy system to be installed at Town Hall House next year is the first phase of a network that will slash Sydney’s greenhouse gas emissions and stem rising electricity costs for businesses and households.

The City will now negotiate with Cogent Energy over the build and operation of its trigeneration energy network.

Cogent’s proposal would provide the lowest cost of carbon emission abatement at $30 per tonne and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the city by 1.7 million tonnes over 15 years.

Cogent - who's parent company Origin Energy, Australia’s largest energy supplier - was the only energy company to provide a proposal covering all four precincts the City required – CBD North, CBD South, Pyrmont/Ultimo and Green Square.
Read the media release.

Ultimately the aim is to connect up privately owned buildings to the low carbon electricity network, which could avoid the need for up to $1.5 billion investment in new power stations and upgrades to the grid.

Producing power locally avoids the high costs of transporting electricity from coal-fired power stations in the country, reducing energy costs.

 

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Source: The Allen Consulting Group (2010)


What is Trigeneration?

Trigeneration systems are powered by natural gas from the mains. When technology catches up, the city’s systems will be run on renewable gases recovered from treating household waste.

Trigeneration systems capture waste heat from electricity generation and use it locally for the heating and cooling of buildings. They are four times cheaper than other carbon emission reduction strategies, and the City expects greenhouse gas emissions in Central Sydney buildings to be slashed by between 40% and 60% from 2006 levels.

Trigeneration in the City of Sydney

There are already around 10 trigeneration plants in the CBD and North Sydney - operating unobtrusively in office building basements or on rooftops across central Sydney.


View City of Sydney Co/trigeneration in a larger map

 

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Last Updated: Tuesday 7 February, 2012

Please Note:
While care is taken to ensure accuracy, the City of Sydney cannot guarantee that information expressed here is correct and recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use. The City of Sydney makes no warranty or undertaking, whether expressed or implied, nor does it assume any legal liability, whether direct or indirect.