Building market capacity
As a specialist investor, the CEFC is aware that expert information on clean energy trends and market developments is
valued by investors, project developers, financiers and regulators as they consider large and long term investments.
Sharing market insights
In 2019–20 we contributed to the development of a range of market insights and reports to build market capacity.
| Transforming Australian agriculture with clean energy, with the support of the National Farmers’ Federation |
| Biofuels and Transport: An Australian Opportunity, co-developed with ARENA |
| Insights from the first wave of large scale solar projects in Australia, co-developed with ARENA |
| Clean energy and infrastructure: Pathway to airport sustainability, co-developed with AECOM |
| Decarbonisation Futures: Solutions, actions and benchmarks for a net zero emissions Australia, led by ClimateWorks Australia |
| Reshaping infrastructure for a net zero emissions future, led by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, ClimateWorks Australia and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council |
| Pathway to cleaner, greener homes, discussing the Bank Australia Clean Energy Home Loan, which draws on CEFC finance |
| Australian Recycling Investment Fund, discussing investment opportunities in the waste sector |
| Advancing Hydrogen Fund, providing guidance on investment opportunities to support the growth of a clean, innovative, safe and competitive Australian hydrogen industry |
| Australia’s leading cleantech investor, canvassing the investment focus on cleantech innovators, across energy, mobility and smart cities, food and agriculture, the circular economic and industry |
| Australia’s bioenergy transformation, outlining the substantial benefits of bioenergy as an alternative fuel source |
| Australian Climate Transition Index, the first Australian equities index with a specific focus on climate transition and decarbonisation, is seeking to identify some 100 Australian companies from within the ASX 300 which are likely to perform well in a world undergoing a 2°C transition* |
* Delivered just after year end.
CEFC Investment Insights
CEFC Investment Insights provide a broader market understanding of the “why” behind our transactions, as well as report on emissions reduction progress. In 2019–20 our Investment Insights yielded some consistent themes:
Investment Insights: consistent themes
1.
Setting firm emissions reduction targets challenges decision makers to identify and evaluate innovative and alternative cross discipline solutions to drive sustainability performance
2.
Sustainability outcomes can be maximised when decision makers, design teams and contractors collaborate from the beginning of the project
3.
Investments in energy efficiency can deliver commercially positive benefits in addition to the achievement of targeted emissions reduction
| Our report | What we achieved |
|---|---|
| Clean energy and built-to-rent housing |
Energy efficiency initiatives at Sydney’s new 315 apartment LIV Indigo complex are on track to unlock annual energy savings of $337,000 (at current prices), with the benefits equally shared between tenants and owners. Mirvac Australian Build-to-Rent Club. |
| Clean energy and healthcare |
Sustainability features at the North Shore Health Hub are targeting $180,000 in avoided energy costs annually, with the cost of the combined 160 kW solar PV and embedded network system to be recovered in under five years. Dexus Healthcare Wholesale Property Fund. |
| Clean energy and Australia’s infrastructure sector |
The effectiveness of initiatives to drive meaningful emissions reduction across major Australian infrastructure assets means they will now be applied across the global IFM portfolio. IFM Australian Infrastructure Fund. |
| Clean energy and community housing |
The cost of energy efficiency investments to achieve a 7 star NatHERS rating, representing an estimated 40 per cent saving on heating and cooling loads, was less than $6,000 per dwelling. SGCH and Housing Plus. |
| Clean energy and Australian seniors living |
Increased energy efficiency at the Greenway Views seniors living facility in Canberra reduced the need for an existing electrical transformer, creating space for additional facilities. LDK Healthcare and Cromwell Property Group. |
| FarmPrint benchmarking tool brings CSIRO expertise to farmers |
Delivery of a 12 month pilot of FarmPrint, a unique tool designed to enable Australian farmers to monitor, benchmark and evaluate their on-farm carbon footprint, to help lift the sustainability of their farming operations. MIRA Agriculture.* |
| Clean energy and the opportunity for waste: |
Discusses how innovative technology, finance and contracting is enabling Perth’s East Rockingham Waste to Energy facility to address the twin challenges of increasing the supply of cleaner energy and reducing landfill volumes. East Rockingham Waste to Energy Facility.* |
* Delivered just after year end.
Market engagement
The CEFC frequently contributes to targeted industry and sector specific conferences and events, providing an opportunity to deepen understanding about clean energy finance and the role of clean energy technologies in decarbonising the Australian economy.
We maintained this effort in 2019–20, with our activities supporting a cross section of CEFC business activities, particularly renewables, bioenergy, hydrogen and the institutional investor market. Our inaugural Hydrogen workshop was well received, as was our second Electric Vehicle Day, which was hosted in New South Wales.
In addition, we continued to deliver the CEFC Markets Update, a regular update on news and insights from the energy and technology sectors. Subscribers to the CEFC Markets Update grew 42 per cent in 2019–20, with an audience of more than 900 senior stakeholders from industry, finance, regulatory and government bodies. Analysis shows that 70 per cent of the readers are “highly engaged” with the content.
The Green Room
In response to the market disruption, in 2019–20 we launched The Green Room | Clean Energy Conversations with the CEFC, a new market engagement channel to enable us to promote clean energy investment opportunities during and after the COVID-19 disruption. The Green Room model, provided online, enables investors and stakeholders to discuss investment and market opportunities with CEFC personnel as well as leaders in the external market.
www.cefc.com.au
The CEFC website is a critical window to our organisation, where we discuss our transactions, clean energy investment opportunities and important market developments. In 2019–20, visitor numbers to cefc.com.au averaged some 10,600 per month, a lift of five per cent on the previous year. We completed a major refresh of the website in the year, with a substantial uplift in usability and user experience to reflect market best practice. Our social media channels also continued to gain new followers with an uplift of almost 30 per cent across LinkedIn and Twitter.
Australasian Reporting Awards
The 2018–19 CEFC Annual Report received a Silver Award in the Australasian Reporting Awards, the sixth consecutive year the CEFC has received recognition in these awards.
