Future Made in Australia plan to turn country green energy superpower

Its 2024-25 budget will invest $22.7 billion over a decade to help the country succeed and remain an indispensable part of the global economy, the government recently announced.

“Our plan will maximise the economic and industrial benefits of the international move to net zero and secure Australia’s place in a changing global economic and strategic landscape,” a media release from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

The plan involves creating a new 'front door' for investors with major, transformational investment proposals to make it simpler to invest in Australia and attract more global and domestic capital, complementing the functions of the Net Zero Economy Authority.

The government will invest $168.1 million to better prioritise approval decisions for renewable energy projects of national significance. This will include $20.7 million to improve engagement with communities involved in the energy transition, and $15.7 million to deliver a stronger, more streamlined and more transparent approach to foreign investment.

It will spend $17.3 million to implement a comprehensive agenda to mobilise private investment in sustainable activities and invest $1.3 million to develop and release best practice guidance for disclosing net zero transition plans.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency will receive $3.2 billion over the next decade to support the commercialisation of technologies critical to net zero, including through a new $1.7 billion Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund for the deployment of innovative technologies and facilities linked to priority sectors.

The government will implement a hydrogen production tax incentive to provide a $2 incentive per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced between fiscals 2027-28 to 2039-40, for up to ten years per project.

It has allocated $1.3 billion over the next decade in the Hydrogen Headstart programme to provide additional support to early-movers investing in the industry’s development, and $17.1 million to implement the National Hydrogen Strategy to help Australia become a global hydrogen leader by 2030.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)