Four Perth office buildings have been awarded nearly $2 million in government grants for 'green' upgrades though Western Australia gained only five per cent of the total grants.
The federal government's $29.5 million Green Building fund program helps commercial office buildings reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The four Perth buildings have been granted a combined $1.72 million from the first two rounds of the program to make their offices environmentally friendly.
The successful WA applicants are:
- 1 William Street, otherwise known as The Quandrant and houses Lavan Legal, has received $460,077
- 150 St Georges Terrace, the Commonwealth Bank building, received $500,000
- 190 St Georges Terrace, which houses HSBC and is owned by Terrace Properties and Investments, received $390,338
- 251 Adelaide Terrace, houses GRD Minproc and Nagoya Sushi Restaurant, received 374,425
Across the nation, 89 projects received funding from the program.
The successful applicants will implement environmentally friendly changes such as upgrades to heating and airconditioning, installation of wind turbines and solar panels and replacement of glazing.
"We predict that these projects will cut greenhouse gas emissions by almost 65,000 tonnes every year," said Innovation Minister, Senator Kim Carr.
"Not only is this great news for the environment, it is great news for the economy because these grants will support a total investment of $96.8 million to retro-fit the buildings.
"That means we are creating jobs now, to equip the offices of the future.
"Reducing greenhouse emissions means an increase in energy efficiency and real savings for business in tough economic times.
"I encourage other businesses to apply for future rounds."
The next round of the program will close on June 30 2009.
The Green Building Fund is part of the government's $240 million Clean Business Australia initiative.
