Australia intends to heavily invest in its retrofit market for 2011, with a number of finance initiatives are put in place.

Australian Carbon Trust intends to invest up to $23.7m over the next three years through energy efficiency financing programmes with a number of stakeholders.

National Australia Bank, Eureka Funds Management, Alleasing, Origin Energy, Australia Post and Melbourne City Council are among investors.

Trust chairman Robert Hill said these funds, once implemented, would lead to private sector funding of more than $300m, to be allocated to Australian businesses to improve the energy efficiency of their commercial buildings, both large and small.

The Trust will coordinate a number of projects with its partners. With NAB and Eureka Funds Management, a fund of more than $200m is expected to grow over two years to retrofit non-residential buildings, starting initially in Melbourne.

With Alleasing, $100m will be allocated for energy efficient equipment, while Australia Post will use its communication network to implement a number of energy efficiency demonstration projects in a number of its facilities.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural Research Economics has estimated that 55% of Australia’s cuts in greenhouse gases over the next 40 years could be attributed to taking energy efficient measures.