Wednesday 30 October 2019

Australia invests $1bn to improve power grid reliability

The Australian Government is providing fresh investment totalling $1 billion (£0.5bn) for projects that help improve the reliability of the electricity grid.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Grid Reliability Fund for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) for investment in new energy generation, storage and transmission infrastructure.

The CEFC mobilises capital investment in renewable energy, low emission technology and energy efficiency in Australia.

It has established a specialist Clean Futures Team to strengthen its focus on long-dated emerging opportunities in areas including grid augmentation, such as transmission, interconnectors and renewable energy zones, as well ashydro, grid scale battery storage and hydrogen.

CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said: “We recognise that investment in new generation, storage, transmission and infrastructure is critical to support the security and reliability of Australia’s energy grid. We look forward to working with governments and potential investors in accelerating the development of these opportunities.

“This additional capital will work alongside our continuing investments in solar, wind, hydro, bioenergy and other technologies in the renewable energy sector. We also have a strong focus on addressing some of Australia’s toughest emissions challenges, across agriculture, infrastructure, property, transport and waste.”