Following the announcement of a South West Renewable Energy Zone, Business NSW and the Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation (RMJO) is launching a new electric vehicle resource for businesses. Photo: Erin Hee.
Representatives from businesses across the Riverina have gained a better understanding of the future of energy following their attendance at a forum this week that included the announcement of a web-based resource concerning electric vehicles.
Business NSW Regional Director for Riverina Murray Serena Hardwick said there were more than 65 attendees at the TransGrid Discovery Hub in Wagga on Tuesday (12 August), with some travelling from Deniliquin.
“Today, our guests have travelled far and wide to be here, and they’re really eager to hear about some of the challenges, and want authentic and real conversations about what energy means to them and their operations,” Ms Hardwick said.
“Our Business Condition Survey has told us for the last two years that energy is one of the top three concerns for business.
“We’re also talking about reliability and resilience in the network as well. With natural disasters, this is a really important conversation to make sure that our businesses have continuity.
“Some of the things that we’ve covered today are alternative energy sources and exploring how we could be using biomass as an example to help heating, given that we are the producing region.
“We’ve had the South West Renewable Energy Zone announced in our region, and this is a great opportunity for business to find out what does that actually mean, and what are some of the opportunities for them to be able to gain meaningful employment or jobs from the work that’s going to happen in that sector.”
RMJO executive officer Yvonne Lingua said a web-based resource, which received funding under the Sustainable Councils program, was designed to provide businesses with access to information and resources from one central location.
The Sustainable Council program is an initiative by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Environment and Water that supports councils in addressing and reaching their net-zero targets.
“There is quite a lot happening in that space, and we’ve heard that it would be helpful for these businesses to be able to make an informed decision about what’s going to be best for them,” Ms Lingua said.
“So this electric vehicle resource has been specifically developed with businesses in mind across our region.
“The resource is a wider collaborative effort across the broader NSW Joint Organisation network.
“So this is just one of many resources that will eventually be launched on a website that will be available to the whole of the state.”
Ms Lingua said the resource was intended to serve as a “landing point” for information such as interactive electric vehicle charging maps without needing access to many apps.
“What we’re hearing is that there is so much information out there, so it can be difficult for businesses to assess what’s going to be best for them,” she said.
“It might be difficult for them to know exactly where to go. We’re hearing if you get an electric vehicle, you need to have quite a number of apps to be able to cross-check where you can charge, which ones are working or wait time.
“This resource specifically is intended to help businesses establish where they are on the journey, and to help them assess what kind of fleet might be suitable for them, what they need to consider before taking to electrification for their business.”
Local business Halocell Energy also unveiled its new solar solution at the event.
