The State Government has been inundated with applications for Round 2 of the Economic Recovery Fund, far exceeding the $20 million allocated.

Almost 1400 applications have been received to help small businesses and not-for-profit organisations invest in energy efficient equipment or improvements to help lower power bills, surpassing $31 million worth of grants.

The State Government recognises the cost pressures small businesses are facing and has decided to remove the Round 2 cap, to allow all eligible applications to be considered.

Grants range from $2500 to a maximum of $50,000, with the applicant required to match the contribution.

So far more than $10 million worth of projects have been approved.

Popular pizza chain, One Sneaky Cheetah, is among more than 450 applicants approved for grants so far.

The company will receive $50,000 towards an almost $147,000 investment in solar panels and battery storage at its Ridleyton and Stepney stores, with potential energy savings and offsets of around $50,000 per year.

The grants can be used for investments including:

• Purchasing and installing power supply and generation equipment (such as batteries and solar panels)
• Replacing existing appliances with more energy efficient appliances (above 4- star rating air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers and dishwashers)
• Purchasing/adopting automation technologies that result in greater energy efficiency
• Building improvements to ensure more efficient heating and/or cooling

The majority of applicants have been from the Accommodation and Food Services, Retail Trade and Manufacturing sectors.

Most have applied to invest in solar panels with battery, replace non-LED lighting systems and more energy efficient appliances.

Applications for Round 2 of the ERF fund closed on November 29.

Quotes

Attributable to Stephen Mullighan

The State Government is determined to help more small businesses reduce their power costs, by lifting the cap on the Energy Efficiency Grants scheme.

We recognise that it’s a tough operating environment for businesses and are doing what we can to help.

This initiative reinforces why South Australia is the best place in the nation to do business, as stated in the Business Council of Australia’s Regulation Rumble report in the past week.

Attributable to Andrea Michaels

We are supporting more small businesses to combat cost of living pressures.

We’d already approved $20 million to support hundreds of small businesses through this grant and now we’ll provide even more funding to support South Australian small businesses by removing the cap.

We know that power bills are a particular pain point for small businesses and so it’s been fantastic to see so many business owners apply for this grant so they can make the switch to more energy efficient equipment.

Attributable to Joe Anderson, One Sneaky Cheetah, Director

The Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant has enabled our business to purchase equipment to generate and store enough electricity to be close to energy neutral. Not only is this great for the environment, it will save us tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the equipment.

Without the Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant, we would not have been able to afford to install the solar panels and batteries at both venues. The remaining cost of the equipment, after the grant funds, will be paid off in 3 years and we will then see significant savings and we will own the equipment outright.

Being able to afford to have both solar panels and batteries was important for our business because we open at night and use the electricity that has been stored during the day.