Government must ‘hold its nerve’ on Future Made in Australia
A consortium of clean energy companies and investors has told the Federal Government to “hold its nerve” against criticism of its Future Made in Australia Act.
The Clean Energy Investor Group said funding under the Act would position Australian to leverage its comparative advantages in renewable energy, critical minerals, strategic metals and cleantech supply chains.
The Government has faced extended criticism over the taxpayer-funded incentive scheme for advanced manufacturing and clean energy projects.
Announcing the plan, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia's partners are “moving to the beat of a new economic reality”.
“None of this is merely being left to market forces or trusted to the invisible hand,” he said. “The heavy lifting of economic transition and industrial transformation is not being done by individuals, companies or communities on their own.
“It is being facilitated, enabled and empowered by national governments from every point on the political spectrum.”
The Federal Government has been under pressure to deliver policies in response to the US Inflation Reduction Act.
The Clean Energy Investor Group comprises Rewiring Australia, Climate Capital Forum, Climate Energy Finance, Clean Energy Council, Smart Energy Council,
and Beyond Zero Emissions.
Rewiring Australia Chief Scientist Dr Saul Griffith said the Future Made in Australia Act was a meaningful government investment in renewable energy,
placing it in the centre of the economy.
“What we saw in the US with the Inflation Reduction Act was government investment to allow more homes to access renewable energy, electric vehicles,
household batteries and other projects,” Dr Griffith said.
“This is our chance to build the market that decarbonises our economy, giving more Australians access to rooftop solar and the ability to electrify their homes.”
Beyond Zero Emissions CEO Heidi Lee said the Act was excellent news for Australian household, “who will see the cost of energy fall as we bring online new renewables at scale”.
“It’s fantastic to see Australia step off the sidelines of the global clean energy race and set up our communities to capitalise on our critical minerals by
manufacturing solar panels, wind turbines with recyclable blades, batteries, heat pumps and parts for electric vehicles,” she said.
“Renewable energy industrial precincts across our regions will build critical mass, synergies and common-user infrastructure bring Australian regions - like at Kwinana and Gladstone - into the global race to build zero emissions industries of the future at speed and scale.”
Climate Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley said: “We strongly support the Federal Government’s view that globally, state intervention is the new competition.
“All major economies are massively upscaling public funding for strategically important renewable energy and cleantech, as we have seen with the $1 trillion
Inflation Reduction Act’s ‘green new deal’ in the US.
“We can’t afford to ‘sit out’ the accelerating global transition. The Act puts Australia into the race.
“We have world-leading reserves of strategic critical minerals and metals key to the global energy transformation, and the abundant sun and wind to power
processing and manufacturing onshore.
“We urge the government to hold its nerve and deliver an ambitious and coordinated package of budget incentives enabling Australia to pivot from our historic overdependence on fossil fuels to a zero-emissions global trade and investment leader.”