Spotlight on: Simons Green Energy

Q&A with Derek Simons, Director, Simons Green Energy

Tell us a little bit about your company.
Simons Boiler Company was founded in 1932 in steam and hot water systems. In 2008, we created Simons Green Energy to deliver cogeneration, trigeneration and solar power (cogeneration produces both electricity and useful heat. Trigeneration produces electricity, heating and cooling from a single power source).

We are a family-owned business with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. Our two businesses are complementary - they both deal with thermal engineering. Having prior experience in the field of thermal engineering has given us an easier path to understanding cogeneration and trigeneration systems.

What does your role involve?
Being CEO is a really diverse role that includes corporate development, sales and marketing, as well as administration. You are doing something different all the time.

Why did you decide to join the Clean Energy Council?
We joined a lot of the relevant associations when we first started two years ago to test where they would lead us. We’re certainly keen to see the Clean Energy Council get more involved in the cogeneration space. The new Cogeneration Working Group, which I'm a member of, is certainly a good start.

What opportunities do you see for your company in the clean energy area?
Growth for us in the short-term is definitely in cogeneration and trigeneration. We are one of the only companies in Australia that are offering the cogeneration engine and the absorption chiller as a trigeneration package. We know this is important because there's always been a problem with matching these two pieces of technology and getting them to work nicely together.

We're finding our niche in this space. It is a technology suitable for businesses such as aquatic centres, hospitals, universities, RSL clubs and food processing companies to name just a few. We've already done some trigeneration work for a piggery, a hotel, an aquatic centre and a brewery.

In the long-term, we're looking to solar parabolic technology on a medium-scale, for businesses such as IKEA, on department stores and factories. I personally think solar parabolic has more potential than PV.

What positive initiatives or projects has your company introduced/planned to be greener and cleaner?
The trigeneration package solution has been well accepted by industry. And the introduction of the carbon price legislation has been a really good kicker. Businesses are realising energy price rises are starting to hit their bottom lines. They have to try and mitigate these costs however they can. People are starting to realise that cogeneration and trigeneration is a great way of achieving the desired cost reductions.

What are some of the challenges of working in an emerging field like renewable energy?
This industry changes so quickly, it's hard to know where to put your resources and where it's going to pay off the quickest. You're trying to pick winners all the time.

The other challenge is that you're working in an industry where people aren't necessarily coming to you saying that they need these products. You have to convince them that they need them, explaining how it works and how it's going to help them. Selling the idea of energy efficiency is the single biggest challenge.

It is changing though. Some companies are driving the change, by setting goals like being carbon-neutral by 2030. But there can still be a lot of work in achieving sales.

Which person in the renewable energy or environmental space would you most like to have around for dinner and why?
As a strategic choice in terms of developing our business I would say Allan Jones, Chief Development Officer of Energy and Climate Change at the City of Sydney. And I really admire Rob Murray-Leach from the Energy Efficiency Council. I think he's doing a great job for the industry.