{"id":160654,"date":"2025-05-07T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=160654"},"modified":"2025-04-30T20:04:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T10:04:00","slug":"grants-help-empower-greener-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Grants help empower greener future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A PAIR of innovative local projects have received funding to help reduce energy consumption across Greater Geelong.<\/p>\n<p>Boomaroo Nurseries &amp; Wholesale Supplies and Deakin University were awarded nearly $50,000 between them as part of the City of Greater Geelong&#8217;s 2024-25 Clean Economy Grants.<\/p>\n<p>The grant stream supports businesses to develop a clean technology or circular economy solution which paves the way for a more sustainable future.<\/p>\n<p>Boomaroo Nurseries &amp; Wholesale Supplies will use its $25,000 grant towards its EcoSmart Boiler Optimisation project.<\/p>\n<p>This project revolutionises the way boiler operations are managed, allowing for ideal temperatures for plant growth to be maintained while minimising energy consumption.<\/p>\n<p>The boilers only operate when necessary, reducing fuel costs and emissions significantly.<\/p>\n<p>Deakin University will put its $23,400 towards developing a prototype to trial in 20 Geelong homes.<\/p>\n<p>The new prototype will aim to reduce usage during peak demand hours, while maximising the use of solar generation.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/BoomeroosPeterSmit_31229.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boomeroo&#8217;s Peter Smith and Heath McKenzie with research and development partners Muhammad Qasim Siddiqui and Andrew Wakwale with the boilers. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Operating times and temperature of the appliances will be optimised based on weather forecasts, leading to overall cost savings and comfortable pre-heated\/cooled houses.<\/p>\n<p>Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj applauded the two organisations for their clever and creative proposals.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s fantastic to see a thriving local industry that provides job opportunities right here in Geelong, without community members needing to leave the region for career advancement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Deputy chair of the City of Greater Geelong council&#8217;s environment and circular economy portfolio Cr Emma Sinclair said both projects would support better outcomes for the environment and community.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re proud to back these local ambassadors for clean technology and build capability in our region, as we strengthen our region&#8217;s reputation as an advanced manufacturing leader and City of Design.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Council looks forward to seeing the end results of the projects and how they contribute to making Greater Geelong an even better place to live.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A PAIR of innovative local projects have received funding to help reduce energy consumption across Greater Geelong. Boomaroo Nurseries &amp; Wholesale Supplies and Deakin University were awarded nearly $50,000 between them as part of the City of Greater Geelong&#8217;s 2024-25 Clean Economy Grants. The grant stream supports businesses to develop a clean technology or circular [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":160658,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-160654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Grants help empower greener future - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Clean Economy Grants support greener tech in Geelong, funding Boomaroo Nurseries and Deakin University for energy-saving innovations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grants help empower greener future - Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Clean Economy Grants support greener tech in Geelong, funding Boomaroo Nurseries and Deakin University for energy-saving innovations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Untitled-design-32.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan Rivalland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Rivalland\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nathan Rivalland\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833\"},\"headline\":\"Grants help empower greener future\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T18:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":339,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Untitled-design-32.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/\",\"name\":\"Grants help empower greener future - Surf Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Untitled-design-32.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T18:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Clean Economy Grants support greener tech in Geelong, funding Boomaroo Nurseries and Deakin University for energy-saving innovations.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Untitled-design-32.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/Untitled-design-32.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Councillor Emma Sinclair and Deakin University grant recipient Shama Islam (Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering).\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Grants help empower greener future\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"width\":350,\"height\":38,\"caption\":\"Surf Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833\",\"name\":\"Nathan Rivalland\",\"description\":\"Nathan Rivalland is a journalist with the Times News Group. He covers community news, lifestyle and sport across the Surf Coast, Bellarine and Geelong.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/author\\\/nathanrivalland\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Grants help empower greener future - Surf Coast Times","description":"Clean Economy Grants support greener tech in Geelong, funding Boomaroo Nurseries and Deakin University for energy-saving innovations.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Grants help empower greener future - Surf Coast Times","og_description":"Clean Economy Grants support greener tech in Geelong, funding Boomaroo Nurseries and Deakin University for energy-saving innovations.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/","og_site_name":"Surf Coast Times","article_published_time":"2025-05-06T18:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Untitled-design-32.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nathan Rivalland","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nathan Rivalland","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/"},"author":{"name":"Nathan Rivalland","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833"},"headline":"Grants help empower greener future","datePublished":"2025-05-06T18:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/"},"wordCount":339,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Untitled-design-32.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/","name":"Grants help empower greener future - Surf Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Untitled-design-32.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-06T18:00:00+00:00","description":"Clean Economy Grants support greener tech in Geelong, funding Boomaroo Nurseries and Deakin University for energy-saving innovations.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Untitled-design-32.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/Untitled-design-32.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Councillor Emma Sinclair and Deakin University grant recipient Shama Islam (Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering)."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/grants-help-empower-greener-future\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Grants help empower greener future"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","name":"Surf Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Surf Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","width":350,"height":38,"caption":"Surf Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833","name":"Nathan Rivalland","description":"Nathan Rivalland is a journalist with the Times News Group. He covers community news, lifestyle and sport across the Surf Coast, Bellarine and Geelong.","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/author\/nathanrivalland\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160654"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=160654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}