Last week, the Federal Government announced that it will be providing a further $1bn of funding to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). Originally founded in 2012, the CEFC is designed to reduce Australia’s emissions through investment into several sectors such as agriculture, clean tech innovation, waste and most prominently renewable energy infrastructure. To date, the CEFC has invested $7bn of the previously allocated $10bn. Of this amount, $1.1bn has already been deployed in large-scale solar projects. This investment has had a significant impact on Australia’s clean energy generation, with a combined generation capability of 1.6GW – abating up to 3 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
The injection of $1bn will not only be used to fund more large-scale renewable energy sites, it will also include the much-needed investment into the transmission and distribution infrastructure, required to stabilise the grid ahead of more renewable energy deployment. This move is a strong indication that the Coalition understands and expects that renewable energy generation will play a key role in the future of Australia’s energy system.
The Grid Reliability Fund will provide the CEFC further capacity to support affordability, reliability and security of supply, ultimately putting downward pressure on energy prices. This decision has not only been brought about due to the increasing pressure from Australians for cleaner energy generation, but also the more effective competitive pricing that large-solar pose for energy generation. As such, with the Octopus Group’s persistent support of renewables advancement; they inadvertently also support the reduction of carbon emissions, energy prices for the local Australian households and business.
With a significant amount of renewable energy projects both in construction and in development across Australia, this commitment from the Federal Government to strengthen the grid for more renewable energy is a positive sign Australia will be transitioning away from CO2 emitting energy generation. Now is an exciting time for investors and experienced managers such as Octopus who are able to utilise the experience of investing in 250+ clean energy sites, to build Australia’s clean energy future.
