12 June 2013 — Qantas is hoping the introduction of trigeneration at its Sydney headquarters and Terminal 3 building at Sydney Airport will increase its NABERS rating from one-and-a-half stars to five stars.
The company is installing one of Australia’s largest trigeneration power plants next to its Mascot offices. It has a capacity of eight megawatts and will supply energy for electricity, heating and cooling.
Qantas expects the new plant to help cut carbon emissions by around 14,000 tonnes per year – the equivalent of taking 3500 cars off the road.
It was constructed by Grid X Power under a “Build, Own, Operate and Maintain” contract. A second, smaller plant with a capacity of four megawatts will be constructed at the airport.
Qantas’s head of environment John Valastro said trigeneration was part of the airline’s drive to operate more efficiently.
“We are committed to reducing our energy use and carbon emissions on the ground as well as in the air and trigeneration is a big step forward for us in Sydney,” he said.
“With the introduction of trigeneration we expect our energy star rating to increase from one and a half stars to five stars, under the government-endorsed NABERS system.
“More than 4000 employees work in the buildings that will be powered by this new facility. It made perfect sense to introduce trigeneration as part of the broader upgrade of our Mascot campus.”
Mr Valastro said the facility would also supply the company’s catering centre and jet base – and, by the end of 2013, its Sydney domestic terminal as well.
Grid X Power, through Urban Energy, were not available for comment but its website says the “landmark agreement for the first significantly sized trigeneration plant in NSW” was reached on 15 December 2012.