Sydney’s Greenhouse climate tech hub to go ‘true zero’ with Flow Power’s 24/7 renewable meter

Climate tech start up hub Greenhouse and energy retailer Flow Power have switched offices in Sydney’s landmark Salesforce Tower onto a ‘true-zero’ electricity pilot, time matching every watt the co-working space consumes with wind or solar generation 24/7.

Under a GreenPower certified power purchasing agreement, Flow Power’s kWatch meters track Greenhouse’s minute-by-minute load. A battery charges and discharges to bridge gaps between on site demand and generation from Flow Power’s wind and solar portfolio.

The pilot in Greenhouse is aimed at moving away from the ‘net zero’ of carbon offsets and toward ‘true zero’ fully renewable energy generation.

“While carbon credits and offsets have been key to stimulating renewable energy investment, we believe time matching is the next step in decarbonisation and this new, time-matched PPA structure bridges the gaps left by our current system,” said Flow Power Chief Revenue Officer Jacob Mahoney.

“Through this partnership with Greenhouse, we are so excited to take true zero from an in-house experiment to a real-world demonstration and hopefully set an exciting new benchmark for how organisations can decarbonise effectively.”

Commercial buildings account for roughly a quarter of Australia’s electricity demand and 10 per cent of national carbon emissions, according to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

24/7 carbon‑free energy schemes are gaining traction globally. UNSW researchers recently mapped market rules to make time‑matched power purchasing agreements work in Australia, finding early mover corporates could drive storage and trigger further investment.

So, it makes sense to trial this tech with Greenhouse. The climate tech hub, backed by the City of Sydney with $31 million and run by VC firm Investible, opened inside Salesforce Tower in late 2023.

“At Greenhouse, we believe climate innovation must be grounded in action, not just ambition,” said Ed Schmidt, COO at Greenhouse.

“Our space is a platform for real-world climate solutions to take shape, grow, and lead the way forward.

“Our partnership with Flow Power is a powerful example of how we walk the talk. By running our operations on 100% renewable energy, we’re not only reducing our own footprint — we’re setting a new benchmark for what true zero can look like in practice.”