GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR WIDE BAY FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANUFACTURERS
Federal Member for Wide Bay and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Llew O’Brien is encouraging local small and medium food and beverage manufacturers to act fast and apply for a grant of up to $25,000 each to save money on energy bills, improve energy efficiency and adopt new energy technologies.
Mr O’Brien said the grants under the latest $19.9 million round of the Energy Efficient Communities program could be used to replace existing equipment with more energy-efficient models, carry out energy audits, or improve energy monitoring and management.
“Improving energy efficiency is good news for manufacturers, consumers and the environment because lower energy use reduces the impact of electricity bills that see costs passed on at the supermarket,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Lowering business energy emissions is also an essential component of the Morrison’s Government commitment to back business and I encourage Wide Bay manufacturers to put in an application for this grants round.”
Applications close on 18 February 2022 or earlier if funding is exhausted prior.
The food and beverage manufacturing industry is the largest manufacturing sector in Australia, contributing around $22.4 billion to the economy. The Australian Government is supporting this vital sector of the economy as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Tim Wilson said the program targets food and beverage manufacturers, which include some of the most energy-intensive small and medium businesses in Australia.
“It’s because they’re the engine room of the economy employing 1 in 4 manufacturing workers, that the Morrison Government is backing food and beverage manufacturers to be competitive through grants to lower their power costs and slash emissions as part of the solution to Australia’s carbon-neutral future,” Assistant Minister Wilson said.
“Reducing needless energy consumption also cuts emissions and is at the heart of the Morrison Government’s focus on technology, not taxes, because it boosts competitiveness, creates new jobs and reduces Australia’s environmental footprint.”
More information, grant guidelines and application forms are available at www.business.gov.au/EECFB, or telephone on 13 28 46.
