Green Product Purchase Agreement
With a longstanding commitment to being a Climate Positive precinct, Infrastructure NSW is spearheading an initiative to secure Barangaroo’s emissions reduction goals for 25 years through a state-leading, long-term Green Product Purchase Agreement (GPPA) that will:
- Deliver more than four renewable solar farms in regional NSW.
- Supply Renewable Energy Certificates (green products) to the NSW Government at a fixed rate.
- Provide the highest quality renewable energy offsets for Barangaroo’s electricity use (Scope 2 emissions).
- Help fulfill the Precinct’s commitment to being Climate Positive.
Benefits
The GPPA offers several environmental, economic, and local community benefits including:
Community benefits
- Directly contributes to achieving the NSW Government's Net Zero Plan.
- Creates job opportunities in regional communities in NSW.
- Encourages Aboriginal participation in employment.
- Allows businesses and residents to choose their electricity provider.
Economic benefits
- Provides competitive pricing for green products.
- Ensures fixed prices, limiting exposure to market volatility.
- Achieves value for money within the NSW Government's funding capabilities.
- Assures set purchase quantities, offering stability.
- Fosters healthy energy marketplace competition to prevent monopolies.
Environmental benefits
- Barangaroo's grid-supplied power (Scope 2 emissions) is treated as renewable energy. Strengthens renewable energy supply in NSW.
- Upholds Barangaroo’s commitment to being a climate positive precinct.
- Safeguards sufficient funds to offset both Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions at Barangaroo.
Frequently asked questions
The GPPA is funded by an estate levy collected by the NSW Government from the building owners at Barangaroo for management and maintenance of the Barangaroo Precinct. A portion of the estate levy, called the Estate Levy Climate Positive Contribution (ELCPC), is dedicated to achieving carbon neutrality, including the GPPA.
A Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or green product represents an amount of electrical power generated by a renewable energy source, usually wind or solar.
Green products can be bought and sold separately from electricity. This enables the NSW Government to claim the zero-emission benefits associated with the generation of renewable energy, without directly using the electricity produced from the renewable energy source.
A green product is not electricity. Green products are sold by a renewable energy producer independent to the electricity that is supplied to the grid. When someone purchases electricity without the equivalent green product to offset emissions, that electricity cannot be called renewable energy, even if the electrical power being supplied came from a renewable energy source.
The three main types of emissions are:
Scope 1 emissions: Sometimes referred to as direct emissions, these are emissions generated within the Barangaroo precinct directly. Barangaroo’s scope 1 emissions are derived from activities including natural gas for cooking and hot water, as well as diesel generators.
Scope 2 emissions: These are the emissions released into the atmosphere as a result of the consumption of grid supplied electricity at Barangaroo. In Barangaroo, Scope 2 emissions occur any time the precinct consumes electricity from the electricity grid. The GPPA contributes to achieving net zero, through the purchase of green products, to offset Barangaroo’s Scope 2 emissions.
Scope 3 emissions: These are emissions that occur because of the activities of a facility, from sources not owned or controlled by that facility. Barangaroo’s Scope 3 emissions include employees commuting to and from work and the transportation and treatment of waste.
The NSW Government has a GPPA in place with CleanPeak Energy for the Barangaroo Precinct. The GPPA ensures specific quantities of green products are supplied to INSW on a regular basis for 25 years. The NSW Government's voluntary purchase of green products will allow the Barangaroo precinct’s forecasts for grid-supplied electricity consumption to be treated as zero emissions. This also ensures Barangaroo is carbon neutral without tenants needing to enter individual green powered electricity contracts, meaning they can source electricity from a provider of their choosing. The number of green products transferred under the GPPA has been determined by assessing actual operating energy consumption data for Barangaroo, alongside projections about future electricity needs.
Barangaroo is certified each year as a Carbon Neutral Precinct under the Climate Active standard. The GPPA contributes to achieving net zero, through the purchase of green products, to offset Barangaroo’s Scope 2 emissions. To achieve carbon neutrality in Barangaroo, Scope 1 and 3 emissions are offset by Australian Carbon Credit Units.