RSL saves $20K per year with trigen

Castle Hill RSL Club’s new state-of-the-art trigeneration system is set to deliver the club $20,000 in savings each year.

Designed, supplied, installed and maintained by Simons Green Energy and supported by $495,500 in Federal Labor funding, the trigeneration system will produce enough electricity to power the club while turning the waste heat into useful heating and cooling, thereby saving on energy costs and cutting carbon emissions.

Castle Hill RSL successfully applied for a $495,500 Community Energy Efficiency Program (CEEP) grant which provided the co-funding for the 378 kW trigeneration system. The payback period for this project is 2.5 years, according to the club.

This installation was stage two for the club, after SGE installed a cogeneration system at its C2K Aquatic Centre in September 2011. The club has saved approximately $160,000 over the past two years in energy costs.

“The Castle Hill RSL is dedicated to supporting its local community and the energy savings achieved from this project will enable the club to deliver even more,” Senator Doug Cameron said at the launch on 5 September.

“Our first cogeneration installation at Castle Hill RSL Club delivered compelling financial and environmental benefits to the club and we are expecting to see the same positive results with the new trigeneration system,” said Simons Green Energy Director of Corporate Development Allan Aaron.

“Decisions that get made in an environment that is dynamic and unpredictable, where information is often incomplete and not clear cut, require vision, leadership and strength of character. I believe we have seen this leadership demonstrated in the implementation of the Castle Hill trigeneration project.”

The trigeneration system is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 1208 tonnes each year - the equivalent of taking 268 cars off the road. It has an estimated return on investment of 29% per annum.

It produces 400 kW(t) of thermal output in the form of hot water and 300 kW(r) of refrigeration output in the form of chilled water as ‘free’ by-products of the engine’s waste heat stream.