Carbon Tax to Impact Australian HVAC Industry
Posted on Wed, Jul 27, 2011
By Greg Groppenbacher – GEA Consulting, Sydney Australia
Don’t look now but the price of HFC refrigerants is going up with the introduction of a carbon tax, progressing to an emissions trading scheme in July 2015. The tax will be levied initially at A$23 per ton of carbon equivalent (US $24.47).
The impact on R-134A will be to increase its imported price by a factor of about 3; from $A10/kg the tax will be $A30.
- The tax will go into effect 1 July 2012
- The tax is not applicable to HCFCs
- The tax will apply to all imports of HFCs even if the refrigerant will be destroyed at the end of its life.
- The New fees will be imposed on HFCs using the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act
Industry Impact
Refrigerants Australia has estimated the annual cost to industry in the range of $270 million.
The tax will apply to HFCs leading to a substantial increase in the cost of HFCs which will lead to more recycling/reclamation of HFCs until new “drop in” replacements are ready.
The tax will cause an increase in electricity bills and this will lead to more efficient system and equipment designs. Over the last few years, because of this increase in electricity costs and the need for developers to have their buildings rated for energy and other environmental factors there have been moves to tri generation and also the application of such technologies as chilled beams. The tax will increase the move to these options.
Stayed tuned for more to come.
Additional information about the new carbon pricing mechanism (Information on HFCs is on pages 28 and 105).